Reunited
by snowball0709
Summary: Lily and James Potter survived that dreadful night and thought that their son was dead. They return to England and into Harry's life when he is 16 years old. Will he accept them into his life or keep them away? Read to find out. Story follows canon. Only what is not there in the books belongs to me. It's my first fanfic. Plz read and review.
1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE

October 31, 1981

It was just a few minutes to midnight. In the parlor of a wooden cottage were the only people living in the house. With expressions of happiness and smiles on their faces, the two proud parents were looking at their only son playing. Harry Potter was a baby who was loved beyond belief by his parents. He felt safe with them but what baby Harry didn`t know was behind the masks of his parents lay great fear for the well-being of their only son.

Lilly and James Potter were aware of the present situation they were in and of the grave danger that lay ahead for their son. They both vowed to each other that they would do anything to keep their son alive and safe from the wrath of Lord Voldemort.

Looking at her son who was playing with her husband, Lily was content. She began thinking about the past year and how her life changed so much. She was deeply lost in her thoughts that she was shaken when James suddenly sat straight. Alerted by the movement, she began to listen for any sounds out of place.

''Lily, take Harry upstairs and I`ll try to give you as much time as possible. I will stall him. Go and run.'' whispered James urgently to his wife. Lily, wondering if she would ever see him again, picked up the baby and ran upstairs.

Soon Lily heard a blood curling scream that belong to her husband and heard footsteps come up the stairs. Voldemort pointed his wand at her son and with the adrenaline pumping through her she stepped in front of her son. The last thing she saw was a blast of green light and she thought that her family of three were no more.

Some Amount Of Time Later

She was unable to get get up or even open her eyes. She thought that she had died. She just lay there with no track of time. It was then when she felt hands surround and what sounded like her husband cry over her, Lily slowly opened her eyes. ''James,'' she said hoarsely slightly smiling. When she saw the troubled expression on his face, she realized something was wrong. ''Harry?!'' she almost but shouted.

Unable to answer her question, James kept quite. At last he replied "He`s gone, dear" and pointed to the blasted crib and the destroyed wall.

"Let's get away from here, go some place where no one can know or identify us" were the only words from her mouth.

Lily didn't want to be any where that would remind her of her baby anymore and James agreed with her.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN** : The present year is 1996. It has been 15 years since that incidence. Harry will enter his sixth year.

 **Chapter - 1**

Far away from England, in the United States, in Miami, Florida, there was a house which was situated away from the bustle of the city very near to the beach. It was a very serene place. There were only a handful of people who knew that the house existed. In the house above the fireplace was a photo of a couple holding the hands of a little girl. The woman was beautiful with waist length hair that was blazing red. She appeared peaceful and happy with her wonderful husband who loved his wife and a daughter who adored her mother. But Lily Potter was never peaceful nor happy for she never forgot her little baby boy. She missed him and often wondered what he would look like had he lived on that fateful night or rather how her life would be if she had an elder son. She knew for certain that they would not be living in the USA away from all their family and friends. However Lily couldn't bear to be any where that reminded her of her son. So that night, she and her husband apparated away from there.

After travelling to many places, the couple finally settled at their current home of eleven years after they found out that Lily was pregnant . Emma Potter was born on April 15th, 1984. From the moment of her birth, she was the apple of her parents' eye. They never let go of her and she was always within their arms range. She was a sweet tempered baby and didn't trouble her parents much. Her parents always gave her whatever she asked for but they never spoiled their only daughter. Anyone who saw her could tell that she was a mini Lily in the process. Her resemblance to her mother was uncanny. Though she looked like Lily, she was more like James on the inside. While she was growing up, she heard many stories from her father about his school and the many pranks they pulled on others. Her only dream was to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But she knew that she had a lot of convincing to do if she were to pull this one off.

A few days before her eleventh birthday, Emma started the topic of Hogwarts while speaking with her parents.

"Mum, dad, can I ask you something?" started Emma.

"Sure sweetheart! What's on your mind?"asked Lily, worriedly, wondering what her daughter might ask about. James encouragingly nodded her to continue.

"Um, you guys remember that I'll turn eleven in a few days right?"

James and Lily shared a look to confirm that they knew where this conversation was headed. "Yes pumpkin, we remember. Why are you asking?" asked James, though he very well knew why.

"So, um, I was wondering about my education. I know that I have to be trained to be as skillful as you both. So I want to attend Hogwarts, just like you two did." Emma finished by taking a huge breath. She didn't know why, but she knew that her parents were reluctant to talk about their motherland. She knew that her parents were both born there and spent their lives there till she was born. Emma could see the anxious glances that were being exchanged by them.

The couple knew that they couldn't hide the truth from their daughter any longer, not now, not when she wanted to go to Hogwarts. Seeing the nervousness on Lily's face, James started to explain to the little girl all that happened before she was born. He explained about how she had a elder brother and that he was murdered when he was a year old baby. Emma, being more matured than most eleven year olds, understood the complexity of the situation and decided not to talk more on this topic. But she made it clear that someone has to teach her magic.

"We'll teach you all that there is to know darling," said Lily speaking for the first time from when this conversation started. "and we will start by buying you a wand and other materials."

"Then I think we have to make a trip to Diagon Alley." concluded James with a twinkle in his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE.

 **Chapter - 2**

The sun was shining bright and the sky was blue without a cloud in sight. Normally anyone would be enjoying the day. But not Harry Potter. Harry was at No.4 Privet Drive with his aunt and uncle and the menace that they call a son. He was currently grieving for the loss of the only father like figure in his life, his godfather, Sirius Black. Harry blamed himself for his godfather`s death. And the copy of _The Daily Prophet_ in lying on his bed side table was not helping him. The paper showed a picture of him at the Ministry of Magic taken after he and his friends had fought with the Death Eaters and they had been saved by the members of the Order.

Harry could not help but put himself responsible for the events that took place on that evening. He felt that he lost the what so ever small connection he had with the idea of having parents. Harry looked around his small room only to find that all his belongings were scattered around the room. He meant to pack them since he was going to be picked up tomorrow evening to leave to the Burrow. But Harry couldn`t bring himself to do it. He was drowned in grief that accompanied his godfather's death. Even though he hated staying with his aunt and uncle, Harry dreaded to face all the people he tried to avoided since Sirius`s death. He could not bear to see all the faces of his friends and their pity towards him. Harry was never one to express his feelings with anyone. Maybe it had something to do with the way he was bought up. Without any love given to him, he always felt insecured. So he postponed the packing and lay on his bed thinking about the days to come.

* * *

Harry was picked up from his aunt and uncle by Dumbledore himself. That evening was very hilarious for Harry to see his family shiver in the presence of a grown wizard like Dumbledore. Maybe the effect on the Dursleys would not have been the same if it wasn't Dumbledore, who seemed to have enjoyed himself scaring the them though he didn't particularly show it out.

After departing from Privet Drive, Dumbledore took Harry with him to visit an old colleague to pursue him to take up a job at Hogwarts (Horace Slughorn). Then he dropped Harry in the safe hands of the Weasleys, who thought of him as one of their own. , while fussing about how thin he was becoming, showed Harry his room and bid him good night. Since it was nearly one on the morning and Harry being tired, he didn't refuse to her orders. He fell asleep soon only to be trouble by nightmares about Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Next day morning, a very sleepy Harry was awoken by a lanky looking red head and a bushy haired girl standing near his bed.

"When did Harry get here?" Ron almost shouted.

"Ron, don't shout. He might wake up." replied Hermione, in a hushed whisper.

"Too late, I'm already up." a sleepy voice came from under the covers. Pulling down his sheets, Harry was greeted by the knowing faces of his two best friends. He was glad to see them again safe and sound. Harry could see in their faces the worry about him that they were trying to cover. He knew that they were wondering about how he was coping up since he never mentioned anything about it in his letters. But he also knew he wasn't ready to talk about Sirius's death with anyone.

"So, what are you guys up to? When did you arrive, Hermione?" asked Harry, trying to start a conversation before anyone of them could try to figure out his feelings.

"I came" started Hermione, only to be interrupted by Ron.

"What did you do with Dumbledore yesterday? I mean he dropped you here right, mate? What did he tell you?" asked a enthusiastic Ron.

Harry narrated his trip with Dumbledore and by the time he ended his story, Harry noticed how their faces dropped a little.

He could tell that this wasn't what he was expecting. To change the topic, Harry told them both that Dumbledore said their O.W.L. results might arrive today.

Much to Hermione's anxiety and Ron's ( and slightly Harry's ) tension, their results did arrive later in the day. Even their books list for the coming year came with the owls which bought the results. And as a surprise to Harry, he got the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain badge.

Now a trip to Diagon Alley was pending for Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. But , being the mother she was wouldn't step into Diagon Alley with her husband, because she was afraid to step out of her house alone. So it was decided that they would go when could take a day.

 **A.N :** What do you all think? Plz review. I want to know your thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU MAY RECOGNIZE.

 **Chapter – 3**

The day on which the Potter family decided to go to Diagon Alley dawned too soon for Lily's liking. She layed on the bed, with James snoring as loud as a horn, thinking about the discussion she had with James. It was one that they had about nearly a million times ever since he suggested that they go to Diagon Alley. As a last time attempt to talk him out of the plan, she tried even the night before as they slept.

"James, are you sure about going back to England, that to back to the magical community, after all these years? I mean, what if someone recognizes us?" asked Lily hoping to knock some sense into her husband.

"We don't have any other choice, sweetheart. We already deprived Emma of many things from her childhood. But we have to teach her magic. And to do that, we need supplies" said James lovingly.

"We'll go someplace else to get what we need."

"Alright, we'll go someplace else." said James and waited for a second to see Lily's face before asking "So, do you know that someplace else?"

Lily knew she didn't have an answer for that. Ever since they moved to America, the couple stayed away from the American magical community. They took up muggle jobs and lived their lives so. She knew that to get what they needed they had to to England. They had no choice. Almost as she was about to give up, Lily got an idea. She knew it would hurt James, but seeing it as a last minute approach, she asked him "What if Sirius or Remus or anyone else for that matter sees us?"

After thinking for some time with a sad feeling on his face, he said "We will know if it happens." With that, James ended the conversation.

* * *

Lily got out of bed the next morning and started preparing for the long day ahead. But she had no idea just how long it would be. After she finished getting ready, she took up the job of waking her husband. It was a job she took pride in when she succeeds because everyone who knew James could tell that he was not one to wake up in the morning. After finishing the nearly impossible task of waking up her husband, Lily went to the kitchen to whip up some breakfast.

Being busy at the stove and wondering about the day ahead, Lily didn't notice her that her daughter had come into the kitchen.

"Hey, Mum."

"Hello dear" said Lily turning to face Emma. "Well, I can see that you're ready. Excited, are you, Em?"

"Why wouldn't be? I mean, I'm going to see a full fled magical place for the first time." she trailed on. Lily wasn't listening much after she heard Emma say 'for the first time'. Lily felt bad that she couldn't give her daughter the childhood she so much deserved. But as she knew that that was necessary, she pushed those thoughts aside and again started to listen to her daughter ramble on. As soon as Lily heard the word 'Quidditich', she yelled "Quidditich?!"

"Cool down, Mum. Dad just told me that he would take me to see different brooms and all that."

"You know Em, I really wish you didn't tell your mother that." Said James as he entered into the kitchen and saw Lily's face filled with anger and anxiety. "Your Mum fears Quidditich. You know." concluded James, with a smirk on his face.

"I do not fear Quidditich. I just simply like to keep my feet on the ground, that's all." said Lily, all the while glaring at her husband, who seemed to be ready to give a return answer to her.

The entire conversation that was turning into a fight seemed funny to Emma. "I love you both so much" she said getting up, and went to hug her parents.

Lily was surprised at this sudden affection shown by her daughter but enjoyed it nonetheless."We love you too, sweety. And we should hurry, if we want to catch our portkey."

So the family sat down to have their breakfast and then rushed to where James had set up the portkey. As soon as they placed their fingers on the rusty old can, they were swept up into the air and were spinning uncontrollably until they landed on an unused barren land on the outskirts of London. From there, the family traveled through muggle London and made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. But before entering into the wizards' pub, Lily insisted that they atleast change their appearances. They used dillusion charms and so Lily now had black hair, was a bit taller, but still had her bright green eyes. James, one the other hand, had dirty brown hair and his eyes color changed to blue. However, they left Emma as she was.

They entered the pub and entered into the rear courtyard. James tapped a brick in the wall, found by counting three up and two across, three time with his wand. And thus opened the entrance to Diagon Alley.


	5. Chapter 5

**A.N:** I paired up Harry and Ginny in their holidays itself instead of at Hogwarts because I like their relationship.

 **Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

 **Chapter – 4**

Harry spent the majority of his holidays with the Weasleys, ever since his first summer holidays after attending Hogwarts and this year was no exception. He enjoyed himself in the presence of the Weasley children, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny. Even Hermione was present there. He spent his days playing Quidditich, eating triple helpings of the wonderful home cooked meals made by and occasionally helping by doing some of the household work.

The only thing that was different this year was that Harry found himself in the company of a certain red-head more often than not. And he was not complaining. He was surprised to find that he was even enjoying whatever alone time he had with Ginny. Harry was also becoming aware of her presence when she was near him. Ginny wasn't like most of the girls. She was down to earth, practical and tough. But, then again, growing up in a house where there were six boys, all elder then her, must have made her like that. Harry found that it was very easy to talk with her, which he never felt with other girls, exception being Hermione. But Hermione was like a sister to him. He never thought about Hermione in any other way. Whereas Ginny, Harry wasn't sure what he felt towards her. All that he knew was that it was not a sisterly affection when it came to Ginny. He knew that she was special to him. But the only thing that kept him back was the nagging thought of she was his best mate's sister and that Ron would probably kill him if he did anything to his sister.

One summer evening, the members of the Order were having a meeting and so the ground floor of the Burrow was off limits to all the teenagers in the house. Harry, wanting to escape Hermione's inquiry about his feelings, went into the Weasleys yard and settled himself near the lake, leaving Ron and Hermione in Ron's room.

Harry sat near the lake and was deep in thought when a voice disturbed him.

"Hey." said Ginny, sitting next to him.

"Ginny. Hey. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, I went to Ron's room to look for you. But when they told me that you were not there, I figured that this would be the only other place where you would be."

"You were looking for me? Why?" Harry asked feeling quite delighted that she was looking for him.

"Why?" she asked him, with a sigh. "Harry, we both know you're trying to avoid talking to others about Sirius's death and the prophecy and all the rubbish that happened since then. But you have to let it out sometime or the other, so why not know?" she questioned. Unable to answer, Harry mumbled something about it being tough to handle and why such things always happened to him. And before he could stop himself he was kissing Ginny. And to his surprise, she was kissing him back.

After what felt like only seconds, Harry heard a voice saying "Oi! How long will you keep this up? It's been nearly five minutes. Aren't you running out of breath?" They both broke up and lifted their heads to find the face of the one person Harry dread the most in such situation. Ron and Hermione were standing at a small distance from them. However, to Harry's confusion, he saw that Ron wasn't as angry as he thought it would. Instead of hexes, which Harry thought would come out of his mouth, Ron simply said "Don't make her upset or else I will make you pay hell, best mate or not." Ginny snorted at Ron and glared at him. Hermione just gave a knowing smile to them and left, half dragging Ron.

"Well that went much better than I expected, don't you think?" Harry asked Ginny while pulling her nearer to him.

In the couple of days that followed, everyone in the Burrow noticed the change of behavior in Harry and Ginny. Though Mr. and did nothing to discourage them, the Weasley boys tried to give them both trouble. After earning a well deserved scolding and the infamous Molly Weasley glare, they decided to just accept it.

* * *

Arthur Weasley decided to take a day off to take the kids and Molly for shopping to buy all the books and other supplies they needed. So, one morning, a week before they had to return to Hogwarts, the Weasley household was filled with the screams of telling everyone to get ready as soon as possible. Soon, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and the Weasley couple flooed their way over to the Leaky Cauldron and were surprised to find Hagrid waiting for them.

"Ahh, Hagrid! I suppose Dumbledore told you to be here today?" said .

"Righ' ye are Molly! He told me ter be with yer till ye finish yer shopping."

"Doesn't miss a trick that man, Dumbledore. Well, we better get going. Come along now." said , leading them to the backdoor.

Within no time, the group of Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Hagrid were standing in the entrance of Diagon Alley.

"In order to get everything over quickly, I think we should spilt up. Hagrid, why don't you take Harry, Hermione and Ron and let them buy their school books while Arthur and I will take Ginny and get the whole lot of them their robes and other things? After we finish, we can all meet up at Fred and Georges' shop." concluded .

"Sure thing, Molly. And after we finish, we'll meet yer at the shop." said Hagrid and led the three in the direction of Flourish and Blott's bookstore.

After referring to their booklists once, they soon had three sets of books required for sixth year students attending Hogwarts and one set of fifth year books for Ginny. Then they made their way towards the Apothecary, were Hermione bought ingredients required for potions. Ron and Harry don't bother, since none of them met the required grade in their O.W.L.S. After a quick stop at Eeylop's Owl Emporium, where Harry and Ron buy treats for Hedwig and Pig, they went into Quality Quidditich Supplies.

Harry had a particular liking for that place, probably because of his passion for Quidditich. But today, Harry came into the shop, not to just catch a glimpse at the brooms, but to buy a present for Ginny's upcoming birthday. He thought of getting her something related to her favorite team, The Holyhead Harpies. He started looking at a few things which he could give to her when he remembered that she wanted a book that contained all that there is to know about the team. So, he went to the side where the books were kept and started searching. When he saw the book that Ginny describe, he picked it up eagerly and accidentally, bumped into a woman that he didn't see was standing there and knocked a few books out of her hands.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." said Harry, rather quickly and helped gather her books. After handing her the books which he dropped, Harry apologized once again looking into her eyes. Harry was rather shocked for a second when he found that he found a pair of green eyes, very much like his, staring back at him.

"Harry, what are doing here? Did you find what you need? We should be going." came the voice of Hermione. Before Harry could gather his thoughts or find his voice, Ron said "We should get going, mate. Mom and dad will worry why it's taking so long for us." With that, Harry paid for the book and left the shop, but not before he looked back and found the lady still staring at him.

Harry forgot all about the lady as soon as he came in front of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They went inside the small shop to find it buzzing with business and packed with customers.

"Oh thank God, you three are back! What took you so long?" asked a worried .

"We stopped by the Quidditich shop." said Harry, a bit hurriedly and before she could ask an explanation, Harry heard one of the twins shout his name.

"I'm over here" he said as he made his way towards them.

"Hey, Harry." said Fred confusedly. "It's funny actually. We just now saw a man that looked awfully like you, you know." explained George.

"Right, you guys saw another me." Harry said in a sarcastic manner." So, why were you calling me from across the room anyway?" asked Harry, trying to change the topic before the twins could pull his leg with a prank of theirs by making him believe what they saw.

"Glad you asked."

"We wanted to show you"

"our newest line of products"

"which we made recently"

"from all the knowledge you taught us last year" said the twins grinning mischievously.

Then the twins showed him the hats, cloaks and other clothing and told him how those could act as shields for the wearer and protect him/her from minor jinxes and hexes.

After exploring the rest of the shop, they bid good bye to Hagrid and finally came back to the Burrow, exhausted after a long day.

 **A.N:** What do you all thing? Do you like it? Please review!

By the way, I didn't mention about them following Malfoy in the chapter because it was already a bit lengthy. So let's just assume that happened after they left the Quidditich shop.


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N:** Thank you to all who are reading this story. And many many thanks to those who gave reviews.

 _Italics_ are used to express thoughts.

 **DISCLAIMER :** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

 **Chapter - 5**

Standing in the entrance of Diagon Alley, Lily felt like she was a eleven year old again. When she felt someone touch her hand, she turned to see their face half expecting to see Professor McGonagall. But by seeing her daughter, she was forced back into reality. Lily could see the excitement in her young daughter's eyes and it was obvious that even James was thrilled to have come here.

"Wow! This place is amazing! I can't wait to see all these shops." said Emma, unable to contain herself.

"Now Emma, we will visit all those shops after we finish getting the essentials, but not before. Alright?" asked Lily, with a stern voice. But there was mirth in her eyes while she said it.

Answering before Emma could open her mouth, James said "Then let's get a move on people."

They first went to Gringotts Bank to exchange the muggle money, since both, Lily and James, hadn't used galleons or knuts after they left England. "Are those real goblins?!" exclaimed Emma. Emma heard stories about goblins but she was seeing them for the first time. "Yes dear, but be quite now. People are staring." Lily replied. The goblin who was handling their money gave them a curious stare but said nothing.

After leaving Gringotts, the Potters went to Ollivander's to buy their daughter her first wand. After trying out a couple of wands finally Ollivander felt satisfied to give her a wand.

"Dragon heartstring core, twelve inches. Good for defence or offence spells." said Ollivander as he handed over the wand to the little girl. James gave him the money and hurried to get out of the wand shop.

"Don't worry Em, the wandmaker always made me feel uneasy too." James said after seeing how nervous she looked as they left the shop. "So, where do you want to go know, sweety?"

"How about we get the books and other things, so that we can go to the Quidditich place you told me about, dad." replied Emma, after regaining her earlier enthusiasm.

"James, why don't you and Em go and buy the books for first years and I'll go and collect the ingredients for the potions, that way we can wrap this up quickly?" asked Lily.

"You're the boss, dear. Since we don't need to buy school robes, why don't we meet each other, after buying what we need, in Quality Quidditich Supplies?"

"Alright, but make it fast with the books, ok? No goofing around." Lily added as she started to make her way through the crowd. She entered the Apothecary and started gathering all the items she thought would be necessary for teaching purpose. She even picked up a few other ingredients so that she could make some useful potions in case of any emergencies.

Lily waited outside the Quidditich shop for nearly ten minutes. Feeling bored, she decided to go into the shop, while wondering what was taking her husband and daughter so long.

She wondered in the shop until she came near the aisle which the books. _If there is any book in the world James would, then it must be about Quidditich,_ thought Lily. She picked up some books which she thought James would like and held them in her hands. She was reading the reviews on the back of the book when someone had bumped into her. The books in her hands fell down and she saw a boy, probably the one who pushed her, bend down and pick up the books.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." said the boy as he picked up the books. _Atleast he has manners,_ thought Lily. The boy started to apologize again while handing the books to her. When the boy looked into her eyes, she was unnerved for a second. She saw bright green eyes, her eyes, stare at her. Before Lily could frame a sentence in her mind, she could hear a voice saying "Harry, what are doing here? Did you find what you need? We should be going." Before the sentences were finished, she could see the owner of the voice. It was a girl it rather bushy hair and accompanying her was a red headed boy, who was rather tall. "We should get going, mate. Mom and dad will worry why it's taking so long for us." said the red haired boy. Lily was so shocked by seeing the eyes that she lost her voice. She was staring at the boy as he paid and left the shop. But before leaving, she saw the boy turn back to look at her again.

 _My baby would have looked like that. Those eyes and she, she called him Harry. Could that be.._ Lily could not finish that thought. She knew her son was dead and that there was nothing useful in thinking about it. Lily was still on the floor when James and Emma found her in the shop.

"Mum, are you alright? What happened? Why are you on the ground?" asked her worried daughter.

James bent down and carefully picked her up asking "What's wrong, love?" and wiped a few tears away from her face. Lily didn't realize that she was crying till then.

"It's nothing. Really, I'm alright." Lily said hastily. She didn't want to worry her daughter. "So, did you look at all the brooms Em?" she asked trying to attempt a happy voice.

Emma, rather unsure of what happened to her mother, answered "Yeah, I did. They were so beautiful. Dad told me that he would buy me one next year."

"Did he now?" she said looking at James, who still had the worried look in his eyes, but he understood that she didn't want to discuss the matter in front of Emma. So, he decided to drop the topic, for now. "Well, she seemed interested." he said while walking out of the store.

"Lil, while we were coming here from the bookstore, I saw a new shop." started James. "It was so lively, just from the outside. Want to go there?"

"Hmm, ok. Let's go. But this is the last. We have to go home soon, remember?" said Lily and followed a very excited James.

"A PRANK STORE?!" shouted Lily when they came in front of the shop. "That was why you were so excited to get to this shop." said an angry yet amused Lily.

James was oblivious to the daggers Lily was sending to him through her eyes. He hurried through the door, and was exhilarated with what he found. James thought that this was the most amazing place he had ever step foot in. All the toys, the items which were on the shelves were mind blowing. Soon, James ended up at a shelf which contained, according to the labels, some kind of powder that would change the appearance of the person. James took one of the containers off the shelf and by mistake pressed it. The powder sprinkled on his hair, causing it to turn to jet black. _Impressive._ _It worked, but gave me my original color, how ironic._ he thought when he heard a voice call "Harry!". He turned to see two twins, one of whom was coming towards him. "Harry! I see you found.." he broke off by seeing my face clearly. "Sorry. I thought you were someone else. But you look a lot like him." he said and made his way back when he heard a voice say "I'm over here." James stood confused and bent his neck, trying to who 'Harry' actually was. Due the store being crowded, James couldn't see the person clearly, but he could make out that the boy was a few inches shorter than him and his hair, like James's, was messy and black. As James was about to make his way over to the boy, Emma came to him saying, "Dad, Mum is getting really angry. She told me to drag you out if you won't come on your own."

"Alright Em. Let's go." said James, but was still thinking about who that boy was. He paid money for the powder which he spilt on himself and left the shop. James was too confused about why those two people called him Harry, that he couldn't hear what Lily was shouting at him.

That night, late after Emma was asleep, both Lily and James were in their bedroom, on their bed and both were deep immersed in their individual thoughts.

"Lily, I just remembered that you did not give an explanation for why you cried earlier. Do you want to talk about it know?" asked James, suddenly thinking about what it was that bought his wife to tears.

Lily was quite for some time, then she said "I saw a boy today, or rather bumped into a boy.."

"And?" James encouraged her to say more.

"And, when I looked at his eyes, I saw my eyes staring back at me. It was really strange James. I mean his eyes were exactly identical to mine."

"Surely you wouldn't be crying if that boy's and your eyes were similar, would you?" he said softly.

She slowly nodded her head at then looked at his face before saying "That boy, whom I saw, looked very much like you. The only difference was that he had my eyes. He – he-" she said starting to cry again.

James could feel the tears starting in his eyes as he asked "He what, Lily?"

"He looked like what Ha – Harry would have looked liked had he lived to be that boy's age." With that Lily was unable to continue. She felt James put his hands over her and pulled her closer.

"You know what, even I saw someone who looked lot like me when I was in the prank shop today. I heard someone else call him Harry too." he said wondering.

Lily suddenly looked at him and asked "Could it be.." without finishing her sentence, her voice filled with hope.

"No, Lily. It cannot be our son. Our Harry is dead dear." said James, his voice thick with the tears that were now rolling down on his face.

"But James, once think about it. We didn't see his body that day."

"What should we do know?"

"I think it's time to face our old demons again. Let's go back to England, to Hogwarts, once. We'll speak with Dumbledore."

James, after thinking for a few minutes, said "We will have to do this carefully. We've been gone for a long time. They'll be angry with us because of the way we disappeared."With that, the couple started to fall asleep with new hope clung to their chests.

 **A.N :** Please review your thoughts and views so that I can improve.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER

 **Chapter – 6**

The last one week was filled with discussions between James and Lily Potter. They talked, planned and planned again their trip to Hogwarts. Finally they decided to go to Hogsmeade and then to Hogwarts and talk with Dumbledore. The couple knew this wasn't the most brilliant plan but they knew that they didn't have any other choice. James suggested that they could approach Sirius or even Remus but he was afraid that their anger might cloud sense of reason. Dumbledore was the only option left for them. The only thing left was a date on which they should leave. They reasoned that going to Hogwarts during the holidays was not a wise thing because who knew what and where the headmaster would be during the holidays. At last, they decided to go on September 1st, the first day of term.

* * *

The morning of September 1st was very nervous in the Potter household. While Lily was cooking in the kitchen, her thoughts were filled with images of her baby boy. _Oh Merlin, let him be my boy. My family will be complete again._ she thought. She refused to let negative thoughts come into her mind. But she was also afraid to think that they might be going on a wild goose chase. Lily's thoughts were soon disturbed when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist. When she turned, she was looking into the hazel eyes she was accustomed to see for nearly twenty years. Looking into them, she could see the restlessness in them.

Soon, they heard footsteps coming and hastily moved apart. After Emma entered, they settled down to eat their breakfast. Lily could sense the uneasiness in the air as they eat in silence. The calmness was broken when Emma exclaimed, "Are you going to tell what is up with you two?"

Surprised at her daughter's sudden question, she asked, "When do you mean honey?" eying her daughter curiously.

"Well, you've been acting weird ever since we came back from Diagon Alley. Mum, you cried when we were in that shop." she explained.

"It is nothing you should worry about, Emma." said Lily, worried about the way the conversation was going. She didn't expect Emma would notice the difference in their behavior.

"But Mum.." Emma began to whine.

"Maybe we should tell her." James asked Lily. "It will affect her too." Lily gave a reluctant nod and then James began to explain what happen on that day that they went to Diagon Alley. He explained the conversation they had that night and finally their plan to go to Hogwarts.

As soon as he finished speaking, Emma said, "Take me with you. I want to come. I want to see Hogwarts. I want to see that boy."

The couple didn't say anything for minute. They realized that they were so tensed with their preparations that they forgot about where Emma would stay during the entire time that they were gone.

Finally, Lily said, "Em, take your food and go to your room. I'll call you after a few minutes." in a voice that was not to be argued with. Grudgingly, she took her plate and went to her room.

"How could we be so careless? We totally forgot about Emma." Lily said after Emma left the room.

"Why don't we take her with us? Even she wants to come." said James.

"James, don't you think that that would be dangerous. We don't know what to expect after we go there." Lily said in a scolding manner.

"But we can't leave her alone here, can we? I think it's better that she stays with us."

After discussing and arguing on the matter, at the end, Lily unwilling, accepted to take her with them.

"Em, come here." James shouted.

"What? Am I going to here all alone till you come back?" she asked with a sad voice.

"No, honey. We decided to take you with us." said Lily. The effect that her words had on the girl was evident on her face as her face changed from sad to excited.

"Really? I mean you guys aren't messing with me, right?" she asked.

"We're not messing with you Em." said James

"So when are we going?"

"We will leave in the evening. So be ready by that time, alright?" said Lily, glad to see the happiness in her daughter's eyes.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur and before Lily could believe the Potter family was standing in Hogsmeade. The small village was quite and mostly empty. Lily looked around her and her mind was filled with memories of all the weekends she spend in Hogsmeade with her friends and the fun they had there. As they were walking out of the village, down the path, towards Hogwarts, she saw the Three Broomsticks, Honeydukes and it was as if the time had never gone by. She was thinking of all the times she walked that path to Hogwarts as a student and how her life used to be then and before she knew it, they were standing in the grounds of Hogwarts. As they made their way towards the doors of the castle, Lily found that the grounds were awfully quite. _Everyone is probably in the Great Hall for the start of the year feast._ she thought _._ She couldn't help wondering if her son was amongst all those students.

"Wow!" breathed Emma. "This looks awesome."

"It does, doesn't it?" said James, amused by his daughter's reaction.

"After all these years, the first sight of the castle still takes my breath away." said Lily.

"I think that the feast is still going on." said James.

"Why don't we go to the Headmaster's office and wait for him there?" said Lily, as the tension was slowly coming back again.

With that, they entered the castle and made their way towards Dumbledore's study. They stopped when they came in front of the gargoyle that blocks the entry into the office. The gargoyle asked for a password.

"James, we don't know the password. What shall we do know?" asked Lily nervously.

Before James could reply, they heard a deep voice saying, "Who are you?"

When they turned to look at the person, they heard a gasp from the person. The Potters were looking at the face of the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.

" _Stupefy_ " said Dumbledore, pointing his wand at the three of them and that was the last thing Lily saw before she blacked out.

 **A.N:** What do all you readers think will happen know? You might be eager for the reunion between the parents and their son... so trust me when I say that it will be in the next two chapters. I thought of going into the details in these chapter itself but it would have stretched this chapter too long. So bare with me.

PLEASE REVIEW!


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N:** Thank you for all those who gave me their reviews. Your comments mean a lot to me.

A special thanks to Aqua from Aqua and Luna.

 **DISCLAIMER :** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

 **Chapter - 7**

"Ennervate."

When Lily opened her eyes, she couldn't make out her surroundings. Slowly as she gained consciousness, she realized that she was in the Headmaster's study at Hogwarts. She was wondering why when it hit her, the past week, the boy, Hogwarts, everything was coming back to her. Then it struck her, _Dumbledore stunned me, but why?_ she thought.

Immediately, her eyes searched for her daughter and husband. She found them not far from her but not near enough to talk. She saw that they were slowly gaining consciousness. But what surprised her was that they were tied up with some kind of rope and upon looking down at her own body, she found that she was too. It was then that she heard voices.

"How could they Albus? How could they come inside Hogwarts and that too, while everyone was at the feast?!"

Lily could recognize that voice anywhere. It was the voice of Minerva McGonagall.

"Ah Minerva, why don't we ask them?" said Dumbledore and turned to face Lily.

Dumbledore look at Lily with an expression that Lily never saw on usually calm face. It was a look of pure disgust. He then looked at James and Emma with the same expression.

When he opened his mouth to talk, Lily was scared to hear the anger in his voice.

"How did you come into Hogwarts? Why you imposter two dead people and a child?"

Lily didn't know what to say. She was frightened by her previous Headmaster. She was about to open her mouth when James shouted "What do you mean imposter dead people Albus? And, why the hell are we tied up?"

"How dare you ask such questions? How can you imposter James and Lily Potter? I thought that at least you Death Eaters would have minimum sense." yell Minerva.

James was going to retort the Professor when Lily asked "What do you mean by imposter James and Lily? Why would we pretend to be ourselves?"

"YOU LIARS! You know as well as we do that the Potters are dead." she fumed.

Both Lily and James were shocked at what she said. They were unable to speak until they heard a small voice say "Dead?". It was the eleven year old girl.

"And you.." Minerva said as she turned to face the girl, "I thought that you people would at least feel ashamed to look like a little girl. But we can't put anything past you, can we?"

That was went Lily broke her calm. "Don't you dare look or talk to my daughter that." she spat at her previous professor.

After a few moments, she started to ask in a pleading manner, "Why don't you believe that it's us?"

"Because the dead do not come back to life." Minerva shrieked.

"Why do you even thinking that we're dead?" James tried to reason.

Minerva was about to shouting again when Dumbledore silence her with a wave of his hand. "Minerva, go and get a bottle of Veritaserum from Severus." he said and added "Do not tell him the reason. Just tell him I require it."

Dumbledore didn't even glance at the three people and paid a deaf ear to their pleas. When McGonagall had returned carrying a small vial containing colorless liquid, Dumbledore took the vial into his hands and finally faced them.

He looked at James first and then at Lily. "Surely you know what this is?" he asked in the same harsh voice.

"Veritaserum" Lily replied, trying to adopt a calm voice.

"Yes. So you know what this does, don't you?" he asked and continued before anyone of them could reply. "It makes you speak the truth and nothing but the truth. The argument is unnecessary. Your true identity will be revealed soon."

Dumbledore stared into their eyes before asking in a ruthless voice "Do you want to take the potion? Or do you want to tell the truth without it?"

"We are telling the truth. But if you don't want to believe us, then we'll take the potion." James answered.

"Give the potion only to us. You will not give it to the little girl" Lily added with visible anger in her voice.

Dumbledore didn't reply to Lily but simply removed the ropes tied to around them and gestured James to come forward. He made him open his mouth and tipped exactly three drops on his tongue.

Lily could see the potion coming into effect when all the expressions on James's face vanished and left a blank face. It was then that Dumbledore started questioning him.

"What is your name?" he asked in the same harsh manner.

"James Potter" James answered in a monotonous tone.

Lily could clearly the surprise on both Dumbledore and McGonagalls' faces before they regained their attitude again.

"What is your son's name?"

"Harry Potter."

"When did you last see him?"

"On Halloween of 1981, before Voldemort came to our house."

"When and what did I last speak to you before today?"

"A week before the incident occurred and you said 'Choose a loyal person as your secret keeper and do not tell anyone who it is, not even me. Stay safe.'"

Lily could see that the potion wearing off as his eyes became more focused. He asked "Do you believe me now, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore gave a slight nod before he asked Lily to take the potion.

"What is your name?" he asked in a less harsh voice.

"Lily Evans Potter." she replied in the same monotonous voice as James.

"What is your child's name?"

"Harry Potter and Emma Potter." The second name made Dumbledore raise his brow and McGonagall turned her head to see the little girl who was frightened to see what was happening to her parents.

The next question was asked by the deputy Headmistress.

"Who gave you your Hogwarts letter for the first time and what was his/her's reaction?" she asked.

"The letter was delivered by you, Professor. You were shocked when you found out that I already knew I was a witch and all about Hogwarts."

"Oh my dear Merlin, it is you." Minerva faintly said. She turned to Dumbledore and asked, "Albus, how is this possible?"

"I was wondering the same thing, Minerva. I think now is the time to let them speak." he said and faced the Potters as if asking them to explain.

"First of all, why would someone try to imitate us? Why do you think we are dead? And what was with the ropes that you tied?" James asked.

"Because you and Lily died on that night in Godric's Hollow." Minerva said bluntly.

"Alright, I think we established the fact that James and I are very much alive. Can you please stop saying we're dead?" Lily asked in a irritated manner.

"The ropes won't let you perform any type of accidental magic. Now back to the matter at hand, can you please tell us what happened that night and if you are not dead, where were you for the past fifteen years?" Dumbledore asked.

Soon James started telling what happened on that particular day. He told them how Voldemort entered their home and tried to kill him but instead blasted him aside and followed after Lily. Lily continued about how he came into the nursery and asked her to step aside and how she stepped in between her son and that vile being and the last thing she remembered was green light.

"And when I woke up I saw James crying and the nursery blasted. When we couldn't find Harry's body, we thought that he died and so we just left without telling anyone." Lily finished with tears rolling down her face. She was unable to meet the Headmaster's eyes, so she never saw the twinkle in his eyes.

After listening to their side of the story, Dumbledore thought for some time and finally asked, "Why did you decide to come back after all these years?"

"Hold on, why did you think that we were dead?" James asked.

"Because when I arrived at your house, I saw your bodies and it seemed as you were dead." said Dumbledore and asked them to answer his previous question.

The couple then told them about what they saw and heard in Diagon Alley and how they decided to do what they did.

"So, you came back with the hope that your son, whom you thought was dead, is alive?" Dumbledore asked, choosing his words carefully.

"We know that our expectations were way too much, but we just.." James trailed off, his voice filled with sorrow.

Dumbledore looked at the troubled couple once again in the eye and said "Lily, James, your son is alive and did not die on that night."

They both jerked their heads up and the effect that those words had clearly shown in the happy parents faces'.

"He's alive?" doubtful yet hopeful Lily.

"He is alive and is in this very castle." said Dumbledore.

"We have to meet him." said James, making a motion to get up from his chair.

"All in well time, James. Today is the first day and our young Harry arrived late to the feast. It would be better to meet him in the morning." Dumbledore said. But Lily did not miss the troubled expression when he said it, so she agreed with the Headmaster without further argument.

"I think it is time for us to catch up on our sleep. I will show you to your quarters if you will follow me. Minerva, can you send a letter to Harry telling him to come to my office tomorrow morning?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes Albus. And what should I mention anything in the letter?" she asked.

"Tell him that it that there is an important matter that I wish to speak with him." he said. "Also add that it might be better if and would accompany him." Dumbledore added after a thought, thinking that some company would help him deal with what would be revealed tomorrow.

Lily was delighted that her son was alive. Her mind was racing, thinking about her son and how he would be. She was so happy that she didn't even notice that they came to the room where they would stay for the night until Emma tugged in her arm.

When they went inside, they could see that the room was very comfortable and reminded Lily of the Gryffindor common room. The wallpapers in this room were a combination of red and gold. Lily could see that there two bedrooms inside, a small living room with a fireplace and even a kitchen.

Unexpectedly, Lily smacked James on his head and exclaimed "What were we thinking when we bought Emma with us?"

James gave her a very annoying look that said _what are you asking?._ Emma also looked at her mother.

"She could have been hurt James. What would we have done then?" she asked.

"But Mum, nothing happened to me. So relax and let's try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. I'll get to meet my brother for the first time." Emma said excitedly.

Lily was still angry with herself for accepting to bring Emma when she sent the girl to her room. Then she followed James into her room and found him already sitting on the bed.

"I'm so happy that our baby is alive Lily." James said when he saw Lily come to the bed.

"But he is not a baby anymore. He is sixteen years old." she said with a tinge of sadness and gave him a small smile.

The couple talked more of their son until they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next day morning found Lily, James and Emma in Dumbledore's study. Before coming to the office, Lily and James had a heated argument as to whether Emma ought to be present or not. James won the argument after he said she should be able to see her elder brother and that it was her right to be there. At last Lily agreed to take her but she was still worried about having her with them.

Dumbledore was sitting in his chair behind his desk and told them to sit in the sofa that was in front of the fireplace. James and Lily sat on the sofa and made Emma sit in between them. After they settled down, Dumbledore said "The letter was sent to Harry. He will arrive momentarily."

Lily meant to ask her previous Headmaster a few questions regarding Harry but she was unable to speak anything due to her nervousness. She caught James's hand while he was trying to calm her down despite of his own tension of meeting his teenage son for the first time after fifteen years.

Lily thought that everyone in the room could hear her heart pounding against her chest when the much awaited knock on the door came.

"Enter Harry." Dumbledore said in a serene voice which differed much from what Lily was feeling.

When the door opened, Lily saw three teenagers step into the room. It was two boys and one girl. The girl had brown colored bushy hair and was about average height. One of the boys had dark red hair and was taller than all three of them. The last boy had jet black hair, shorter than the other boy but taller than the girl and was very skinny.

"Did you call us Professor?" the skinny boy asked.

 **A.N:** Do you like it?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N:** This is probably the longest gap I took to update. I usually update every alternate day. But this time I was a little busy. Sorry for the delay.

Thanks to everyone who read and gave a review. It really means a lot to me.

 **DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

 **Chapter – 8**

Harry woke up as the sunlight streamed into the sixth year boys dormitory in the Gryffindor tower. Sleepily he reached for his glasses. He could hear the snoring sounds from Ron and Neville who were still in deep sleep. Harry sat on his bed thinking about the previous day and how Malfoy beat him on the train. He made a mental note to discuss it with Ron and Hermione later today. It irritated him for they both didn't believe his theory on how Malfoy could be a Death Eater. Pushing those thoughts away, he looked out and saw the Quidditich pitch. He wondered when he would be able to fly on the pitch again, remembering that he was the captain now.

Harry and Ron, got ready for the day, met Hermione in the common room and went to the Great Hall. After sitting down at the Gryffindor table, Harry started to discuss about Malfoy.

"You know, yesterday in the train, Malfoy.." he started but was cut by Hermione.

"Harry, drop it. We can't just assume that he's a Death Eater." she said.

"Yeah mate. I mean, You-Know-Who wouldn't mark him. If he did then he has to be completely mental." said Ron.

Before Harry could come up with a comment, Professor McGonagall came up the table giving them their class schedules. As soon as Hermione got her time table, she sped off to her class. When the boys got their own schedules, they saw that their first period was free. So they made their way to the Gryffindor common room.

But before they could settle down, Ron saw Hedwig perched on the window still, with a letter tied to her leg.

"Harry, I think Hedwig's got a letter for you."

Harry was momentarily surprised because the only people who would write to him were either in the castle or dead. He went to the window and took the letter from the owl's leg, thinking maybe Lupin wrote to him. He opened the letter and read it aloud so that Ron could hear it too.

 _"_ _Harry Potter,_

 _Professor Dumbledore requests your presence in his office as soon as possible. The Headmaster thinks it is advisable to let Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger accompany you. But it is your choice as well as theirs' as to whether they will come or not._

 _The password is buttercups._

 _Professor McGonagall."_

He finished reading the letter and stared at Ron's face.

"Do you what to come with me?" asked Harry.

"Of course, mate." he replied.

Then they went to Hermione's class. When she came out she was really pissed off at the boys for interrupting the class and calling her out.

"What do you think you're doing here?" she asked annoyingly.

Harry held out the letter without answering to her question. As she read it the letter, her eyes were widening with wonder.

"But the letter didn't mention why Dumbledore wants me and Ron to be there, does it?" she asked at last.

"No, it doesn't. It's a bit weird though." said Harry.

The three of them started their way to the Headmaster's office. Then Ron suddenly exclaimed "Maybe he wants to use us as dummies so that you can practice whatever spell he teaches you Harry."

Both Harry and Hermione gave him a weird look.

"Are you out of your mind Ron? Do you seriously think Dumbledore would do such a thing?" Hermione asked him.

With that they both started bickering and Harry, deciding on not to interfere in their argument, stayed quiet until they came to the gargoyle that blocked the entrance to Dumbledore's study.

"Buttercups." Harry said to the statue.

The pair had then realized that they had been arguing the whole way and finally became silent as they climbed the spiral staircase. When they came in front of the door, Harry knocked on the door.

"Enter Harry." Dumbledore's voice came from inside.

"How the hell does he know it's us?" whispered Ron.

"Shut up Ronald." Hermione hissed at him.

Harry opened the door and the three of them entered into the room. At a first, Harry thought that the room was pretty much the same as it was when he came to the room shortly after Sirius's death. Well, that is before he destroyed it, of course. But after a quick glance, Harry saw the three people that sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

He decided not to pay much attention to them for he was wondering why Dumbledore had called them to his office this early in the day, so he asked "Did you call us, Professor?"

As if reading his mind, Dumbledore said "Harry, you might be curious why I call you here and you too, and ." he addressed the teenagers.

"It might be better if you were seated." he said and with a flick of his wand three chairs appeared behind them.

After they sat in their seats, he continued, "What I am going to tell you might come as a shock, especially for you Harry, but you must trust me when I say that what I am going to say is nothing but the truth and you must not disturb me until I finish speaking."

Dumbledore waited for their response. The expressions on their faces were a mixture of tension and curiosity. Wondering what Dumbledore was about to say, the three of them nodded their heads.

"Yesterday, after the feast, I came to my study. When I came to the statue in front of my office entrance, I saw these three people." he said pointing to the family sitting on the couch. It was then that Harry saw the faces of the strangers in the room

He saw the woman, whose hair was auburn and her eyes were bright green. She appeared to be quite nervous. But what for, he did not know. And the man had really messy jet black hair and he wore glasses. They appeared to be around their mid thirties. Between them, there sat a girl whom Harry could only assume to be their daughter. She had waist length auburn like the woman and was really young.

The adults seemed familiar to him but couldn't put his finger on it. After looking at their faces clearly, Harry realized where he saw the similar faces. He saw them in the album which Hagrid gave him, in the Mirror of Erised, and in many of his dreams. They looked liked exactly like his parents would have looked had they lived to be their age. Harry heard a sharp intake of breath from Hermione and Ron and he knew that his friends were thinking what he was thinking. Harry forcefully remained himself that his parents were dead and turned to looked at Dumbledore.

"Seeing the expressions on your faces, I think that you came to the same conclusion to which I came to?" he asked the confused teenagers.

"If you are referring to their resemblance to Harry's parents, then, yes Sir." Hermione answered.

"Then I think you can imagine what were my actions against them?" he questioned the students. They nodded their heads, anxious to know what was going on.

"I stunned them and brought them up to this room with the help of Professor McGonagall. I was confident that they were Death Eaters impersonating as Lily and James."

Harry noticed how Dumbledore used the past tense but didn't point it out, remembering what he said before starting to talk.

"After making sure that they couldn't do any magic, I made them conscious again. We, then, questioned the adults as to who they were and their purpose to be here." he said.

He hesitated for a minute before continuing and finally said, "They replied that they were indeed Lily and James Potter."

As soon as he finished his sentence, Ron snorted as loud as possible. Hermione shot him a furious glare while Harry asked angrily, "And you believed them?"

"They were tested after giving them veritaserum. A person can only say the truth under the influence of the potion. And the questions that we asked were personal questions that we were sure only the real James and Lily could know the answers to." said Dumbledore.

"Professor, I don't mean to offend you but how can you be so trusting? Do you really think that Voldemort wouldn't think that you would question them under veritaserum?" Harry asked furiously.

"Surely, You-know-Who would have given those people the antidote for the truth potion." reasoned Hermione.

"How can they be the Potters? I mean they are dead and people just don't come back from the dead" Ron stated bluntly.

"If you give the chance, I'm sure that they can tell you their side of the story." said Dumbledore, pointing to them.

"No. I don't want to hear anything. Is this some kind of a sick joke?" Harry asked with anger clutching onto every word.

After thinking, Hermione slowly raised her voice and asked "Harry, why don't we test them ourselves?"

"Hermione, I don't know anything about my parents. They died before I could know them, remember?" Harry asked harshly.

He could see from the corner of his eyes that the woman had tears in her eyes and she turned her face into one of sorrow. But this made Harry's anger rise even more because he was sicken at how well they were trying to act as his dead parents.

* * *

 _"_ _... they died before I could know them, remember?"_

Hearing the harshness in the words brought tears to Lily's eyes. Her son was sitting a few inches from her and he was refusing to believe that they were his parents. She was shaking and didn't know what to do. What can she do to make her baby believe them? She was squeezing James's hand tightly for she was unable to do anything else. After a few minutes, she heard them talk again.

"Your dad was an animagus." said the girl, thoughtfully. She must be Hermione, Lily registered as she remembered Harry say the name earlier.

"Please, that guy can probably turn into a stag too. Voldemort wouldn't send people into Hogwarts without thinking, would he?" said Harry. It was easy to see that he was annoyed at the thought that his friend was going along the possibility.

"But nobody can have the identical form even if their forms are of the same creatures." she reasoned. Lily slowly saw some hope that they could convince him.

"Well lucky us, because we saw Prongs many times and we can easily compare." the other boy said, sarcastically. She didn't hear his name.

"Actually Ron, we did see Prongs a few times and yes, we can easily compare." shot back Hermione and she turned to face Harry.

Lily was confused at this statement and didn't understand what to make of it. She turned to her husband and saw that even he was bewildered by what the young girl had said. The couple then faced them again and they were surprised to see a small smile on Harry's face.

"Finally, I can prove that they are imposters. Professor, ask the man to show his animagus form." Harry said Dumbledore, without facing the family on the couch.

It hurt Lily to see how her son was refusing to look at them.

"James, if you can change..?"

"Do not call him by my father's name." Harry shouted before the Headmaster could finish his sentence.

James got up from where he was sitting and moved to the middle of the room. Lily was still wondering how the students were going to compare. Her unasked question was soon answered.

She was staring at the spot where her husband stood which was know occupied with a magnificent stag in his place. Then she heard Harry say " _Expecto Patronum._ "

A bright light blinded her. She saw the light take the form of a stag, not any stag but a replica of Prongs. Soon Harry and his friends began to compare the two. Lily could see that her daughter beside her was tensed. Emma held onto Lily as if her life depended on it. Lily pulled the little girl closer and gave her a reassuring look because she understood what was going on at last.

"Bloody hell." said Ron, after they finished comparing.

"Harry.." Hermione said in a faint voice.

"I assume that the two are same?" Dumbledore asked them calmly.

"How is this possible?" Harry asked in a quiet voice.

Lily felt the smile form on her face. Harry finally believed that they were his parents. She saw him staring at her and then he looked James. She could see the confusion when his eyes went on Emma.

"And the girl?" he asked Dumbledore.

"That would be your little sister, Harry." Dumbledore said.

The expressions on Harry's face soon became unreadable. Everyone stood in silence, the teenagers, unable to overcome the shock, the Potters, scared to say anything and Dumbledore, not wanting to interrupt. The silence was finally broken by Harry.

"I have to get out of here."

With that, he headed towards the door and left the room while slamming the door.

 **A.N:** Sorry to leave it here. I'll upload the next chapter soon.

What do you all think? Please let me know your thoughts. Review people!


	10. Chapter 10

**A.N:** Sorry for the delay. I got hit by writer's block.

Can you believe that this story got more than 100 follows! THANK YOU SO MUCH for all those you who added this story to your follow or favorite lists and to those who gave a review. It means a lot to me!

 **DISCLAIMER :** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

( _Italics_ means thoughts.)

 **Chapter \- 9**

Harry's mind was racing as he made his way out of the office and ran down the stairs and into the corridors. He didn't know where he was going to. All he knew was that he wanted to get away from the place he just left. He wanted to distance himself from them as much as possible. He was running and finally came to a stop when he realized where he was. He was in the seventh floor corridor across the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. He was in front of the Room of Requirement.

 _I need a place to think, a place where nobody could find me,_ he thought as he walked to and fro in front of the blank wall. It was during the third time that a door materialized in the wall.

Harry opened the door and ran into the room. Slowly, he looked around his surroundings. It was almost like a Quidditch ground. The room seemed to open up to the sky. The room held a peaceful silence. And to the far end of the room, Harry saw a broomstick. He almost felt a smile rise in his face. He quickly took the broom in his hands and started flying across the room. He tried to calm his mind and to momentarily forget all that happened during the morning.

After flying as much as his heart desired and calmed down a bit, Harry made his way to the ground. He put the broom aside and sat on the grass. He started to let his mind wander. Before he knew it, he started to think about the _'people'_ who were there in Dumbledore's office.

 _How did this day turn so weird? Why do things like this happen to me only? Why can't I have a normal life?_ These were just a few of the questions running in his mind, as his hand brushed through his hair in frustration.

If Harry was being truthful to himself, then he could say that his heart's deepest desire just came true. This was the wish he made whenever he got a chance, to have a family. But now, now he was not sure of what he wanted.

 _I have a family, a mother that can love me, a father that I can talk to, and heck I even have a little sister. I can live with the people who want me there with them,_ he thought happily.

But the questions didn't stop forming in his mind. _Where were they for the last fifteen years? Why did they leave me?_

Harry knew that the only way to get his questions answered was to go back to the office. But he wasn't ready to do so. Even if he was ready, a single thought stopped him. _Voldemort. Surely, he would kill them if he finds out that they're alive!_

With that Harry decided what he would do. He got up from the grass he was sitting on and made his way out of the door. He walked towards Dumbledore's study as slow as possible, thinking about what he was about to do. He was deeply immersed in his thoughts that he jumped slightly when he heard someone call his name.

"Harry! Where are you going?"

He could recognize that voice anywhere. "Ginny," he said turning around to face his girlfriend, secretly glad to be delayed.

"Hey! What are you doing, roaming in the corridors?" He asked her.

"I think I can ask you the same." she said, with a small smile around her mouth.

Harry tried to smile back but he couldn't.

"What's wrong, Harry? You seem worried about something." Ginny said slowly.

"Wha- Why do you think that something is wrong? Everything is fine" he tried to convince her.

"Yeah right! Look, I know you and I can see that you're bothered. Why don't you spill it?"

"Ginny, even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Tell me and then we'll see." she said, trying to get him to talk.

Harry sighed and said "I will tell you later. Right now, it's something that I should handle alone."

"Ok, but you have to tell me soon." She said, reluctantly. She turned around and walked away, leaving Harry alone in the corridor. Harry nervously made his way and finally reached the gargoyle that blocked the entrance. Figuring that he could only postpone the inevitable for so long, he went past the gargoyle, up the stairs and stood in front of the door. He took a deep breath and went inside.

* * *

After the door slammed shut, it was as if time had stopped for a few minutes in the room. Nobody moved and all that Lily could do was stare at the door that her son ran out of.

It was when James took her hand into his and lead her to the couch that she came out of the shock of what happened and was able to think.

"He left, James." she said, her voice slightly wavering. Her eyes had tears which were threatening to fall.

James wrapped his hands around her waist and tried to console her.

"Lily, why don't we send Emma back to the room? She doesn't need to be here right now, does she?" James asked her.

She looked at him and nodded. After Emma left, the couple didn't talk much. Lily started listening to the conversation between the other two people, apart from Dumbledore, in the room.

"Do you think we should have gone after him?" Hermione asked Ron.

"No, he needs to be alone for now. He should think it out for himself." Ron answered.

Hermione looked at him, impressed by his thoughtfulness. They were lost in their own thoughts for a few moments, until Hermione said, "Poor Harry. Why do all strange things happen to him?"

"I know. I think of the things he's faced till know, surely this one tops it all." he said pointing towards the Potters.

"I wonder how he will react once he comes back."

"Harry can handle this. I mean after fighting Basilisks, dragons and Death Eaters, this should be a piece of cake for him." Ron said confidently.

"Ron, you idiot! This is why everyone says you have the emotional range of a teaspoon." she said and continued, "This is going to affect him mentally and that too just when he's about recover from what happened to Sirius..." she whispered the last part not wanting to be overheard.

But Lily stopped listening to them after she heard the words Basilisks, dragons and Death Eaters. She looked at James and could see the fear that she felt inside in his eyes.

"What did he get himself into?" Lily said so quietly, so that only James could hear.

But before James could answer, the door behind them opened to reveal the boy in question. Harry entered the room and Lily could feel the tension rise in the room.

Harry went straight to Dumbledore's desk and said, "Sir, I have a few questions."

"Harry, I see that you decided to join us again. Sit down and ask what you need to know." said Dumbledore.

Lily couldn't see any expressions on the sixteen year old boy's face. She resisted the urge to jump up and hug her son. It hurt her to see Harry's blank face and it left her wondering what was going in his mind.

Harry sat down in a chair in front of the desk, across to Dumbledore and next to his friends, keeping as much distance as possible between Lily and James, who remained seated on the couch. She also noticed that he was determinedly avoiding to look at the place were they sat.

"You told me that my parents were dead." Harry started. "Then how are they alive?" he asked in an unnervingly calm voice.

Lily turned her eyes away from her son to see the face of the Headmaster. She could see the regret in his eyes and also hear it in his voice when he started speaking.

"I think that that was one of the most biggest mistakes I ever made, Harry. On that night, when I sent you away with Hagrid, I checked for a pulse from both of their bodies. When I couldn't feel anything, I just assumed that they were dead without checking any further. " he said.

"But what about when you buried their bodies?" Harry asked.

"After that night, nobody ever found their bodies. I thought that maybe their bodies vanished just like Voldemort's body did due to the magic still that lingered in the house." he said. "I am sorry that I never mentioned this to you before." he added.

Harry seemed shocked by this information but decided to leave it be, for the time being.

"You told me that Voldemort couldn't touch me and that I had to live with the Dursleys because of my mother's sacrifice." Harry said.

Lily was surprised to hear Harry say that he lived with the Dursleys. She could feel James tense up, next to her. She knew that he was thinking the same thoughts as her. _Why did he have to live with them? Where was his godfather?"_ But neither of them voiced their thoughts.

"Yes, I did." Dumbledore said.

"But she's not dead, she never was. How can you explain that?"

"I think, Harry, though she didn't die, she was willing to put her life in between you and Voldemort. And that itself was enough to shield you. That was a great act of love, a power that should never be misjudged, for it is a most ancient form of magic."

Harry was silent for the next few minutes trying to understand everything that Dumbledore had said.

"Thank you Sir. I think I will leave now." Harry finally said.

"But Harry," said Hermione, speaking up for the first time since Harry reentered the room, "how can you leave? Don't you what to talk to your parents?" she asked.

Harry looked at her and then to the two people on the couch. Lily saw him look at her and into her eyes. For a moment, she could have swore that she saw sadness and regret on his face, before it became blank again.

"No." said Harry.

 **A.N:** What do you guys think? I know that this chapter may not be so interesting. But the next one will be. I'll try to update quickly.

Please read and review!


	11. Chapter 11

**A.N:** Thanks you all for the reviews, follows and favorites. Here's the latest chapter. Hope you like it.

 **DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

 **Chapter - 10**

"No." _said Harry._

Lily faintly heard what he said. She didn't understand what he said no to. Then it suddenly struck to her, _Harry did not want to speak to his parents, to them, to her._ She could feel the tears forming in her eyes and it took all of her effort to keep the tears at bay. She couldn't find words to say, to convince her baby to talk. But even if she had words, she doubted on her ability to speak in that moment.

Lily thought that Harry would bolt through the door that he had recently came in from, but was surprised when he didn't show any signs of moving. He just stood in his place and avoided looking at them.

Lily felt James squeeze her hand before she heard James ask, "Why?". The emotion in his voice was similar to what she felt.

She held her breath as she waited for a response from Harry. She was afraid that he wouldn't answer but was soon proven wrong as she saw his lips started to move apart.

"Why should I?" he asked.

Lily winced when she heard his voice. It was the first time he spoke to them and the anger on his face was evident while he was trying to keep it from seeping into his voice. It took a lot of her strength to speak the words that she so wanted to say when she finally found her voice.

"Because we're your parents." she said softly.

Harry snorted to her response and looked into her eyes. Lily flinched under his gaze. The bright green eyes, which were so like her own, were ice cold.

"I don't have parents. They died fifteen years back, according to me. And don't think that you can just waltz back into my life whenever you wish." he asked harshly.

"We didn't know that you were alive, Harry. We were heartbroken when we woke up and couldn't find you. We thought you died." James said.

"So you thought, why bother checking whether your son is really dead or not?" Harry asked in the same harsh tone.

"Harry, please! We did a mistake, but that night, we were.." Lily started to explain but was cut off by her son.

"A MISTAKE?!" Harry bellowed. "WELL, I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT YOUR _MISTAKE_ MADE ME AN ORPHAN, MADE ME HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE DURSLEYS AND BEAR THEIR TAUNTINGS AND TO LIVE THE LIFE ANY CHILD SHOULD NOT LIVE. I WAS CALLED A FREAK FOR MORE THEN HALF OF MY LIFE."

"The Dursleys?! They called my son a freak?" Lily all but shouted.

"PLEASE! DON'T ACT AS IF YOU CARE AND I AM NOT YOUR SON!"

"Why didn't Sirius take you? Or Remus?" James asked confusedly.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY SIRIUS'S NAME. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOUR _MISTAKE_ THAT HE HAD TO LIVE IN AZKABAN FOR TWELVE YEARS."

"Azkaban? But why..." James trailed off before he realized, "No one knew that we changed the secret keepers. And they blamed Sirius, didn't they?" James asked quietly.

Seeing Dumbledore nod his head, Lily quickly said with hope, "But we can change that now. We can prove his innocence."

Harry let out a cruel laugh that sent shivers down the spines of everyone in the room.

"You are too late. He's dead. He died last summer. He always thought that he was the reason that you died, because he suggested on switching. But he was wrong. And now he'll never know that you are alive." Harry said, his voice filled with sadness.

James fell down on the couch behind them and kept his head in his hands. Lily sat down beside him and tried to comfort her husband while trying to process the information and not break down like James.

"Don't cry. You don't even care for him. Go back to where ever the hell you came from and continue living your lives pretending that we don't exist." Harry said bitterly.

Without giving his _parents_ the chance to say a word, Harry left the room. By the time Lily could lift her head, Harry was near the door and she caught just a glimpse of his school robes. She saw the remaining two teenagers as they left, this time without thinking, to follow him.

Dumbledore's office was dead silent as each occupant was wrapped up in their own thoughts. Lily could see the tears fall freely from James's eyes. But Lily could not console him for she too was shocked by Sirius's death.

Time seemed to have stopped for the couple as they sat in the Headmaster's office, deeply immersed in their grief for their friend's death and the words that came out of their son's mouth. Lily even forgot that Dumbledore was present in the room until he spoke up.

"I am sorry for everything that happened and that you found out about Sirius's death the way you have." Dumbledore said in the calm voice which was possible only for him.

"But you also have a daughter to think about. She might be worried about her parents." he continued.

Lily and James looked up at him when he mentioned their daughter. _Oh Emma! How can we face her like this,_ Lily thought.

"You're right, Sir. We should go to her now." James said.

His voice sounded tired and was filled with sorrow. She could even see the tear tracks on his face.

"I think it is wise if you don't mention what all happened here to her just yet." Dumbledore said.

"We won't. But she will want to know about her brother. What should we tell her then?" Lily asked.

"Be vague. Don't go into the details." Dumbledore answered.

"We will see you in the morning, Headmaster." James said, while getting up.

"Try to sleep." Dumbledore said and dismissed the couple.

After they were in the corridor, Lily spoke up, "Are you alright?"

"How can I be alright? I found out that my best friend is dead and that our son hates us, Lily." James said exhaustedly.

"Oh James!" she started but he cut her off.

"We can deal with that later. First we should concentrate on Emma." he said.

Lily nodded her head and said, "We'll talk after she goes to bed."

After walking for some time, Lily said, "I wonder where everyone are. The corridors are so quite."

"The students must be in the Great Hall having dinner." James replied.

Soon the couple was at the entrance of the room that Dumbledore assigned them last night. They stepped into the room and were bombarded by their daughter's questions as soon as she saw them.

"What happened? Where is he? What took so long?" Emma asked excitedly, oblivious to the expressions on her parents' faces.

Lily and James shared a look before they started answering her questions.

"Whoa Em! Cool down and breathe." James exclaimed. Lily was shocked to hear his voice was so normal.

"Dad, where is my brother?" she asked again.

"He went to his dormitory, sweetheart." Lily said.

"Dormitory? Why didn't he come here?" she asked.

"Um, because he has to attend class in the morning." James answered and continued talking without giving the girl chance to speak. "Did you have dinner?" he asked.

Emma nodded her. But it was clear that she was confused.

"Emma, go to your room. It's nearly your bedtime. You have to sleep." said Lily.

"But Mum.." the girl started.

"No buts. Don't argue and go." James said strictly.

Surprised by her father's tone, since he nearly never spoke to her very sternly, she went to her room without another word.

The couple went to their bedroom as soon as they saw Emma go into her's. They didn't speak with each other until they settled on their bed. Lily wrapped her arms around James and cuddled close to him. She didn't know what to say to him that could offer him comfort. While she was sad about Sirius's death, it was her son's words that troubled her the most. But she didn't know how her husband was dealing with the news of his best friend's demise. She was thinking about Harry and how his life must have been when James spoke up.

"He spent twelve years in Azkaban and now he's dead. It's all my fault." he said in a hollow voice.

"James, it is not your fault. You didn't know." Lily tried to convince him.

"We need to talk to him again." he said. "Harry, we should talk to him once more." he added seeing her confused expression.

"We do, and with Remus too."Lily said, remaining him of his other friend.

"I don't think I can face Remus. What if he hates me, just like Harry does?" James voiced his worry.

"They don't and won't hate us. We'll explain how our situation was." Lily told him.

Slowly the couple started to fall asleep in each other's arms. But they were both troubled with the thoughts of what morning might bring them.

* * *

"Harry!"

"Wait up, mate!"

Harry could hear his two best friends shout at him from behind. He didn't stop walking but slowed his pace until they caught up with him.

"Harry?" Hermione asked him, timidly, when they finally came to his side.

"Not now, Hermione." he replied.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked.

"We?"

"Harry, we left you to think to yourself once already. Do you really think that we would leave you now?" Hermione questioned him.

Harry gave her a shrug and let them follow him. Soon Harry found himself in the Room of Requirement for the second time in that day. But this time he was not alone. And this time the room was like a smaller version of the Gryffindor common room but without the noises.

There were three cozy armchairs surrounding a roaring fireplace. The walls were covered with red and gold wallpapers. The room felt very inviting to the three teenagers. All three of them sat in the chairs and an awkward silence fell between them. They knew that the following conversation would be difficult and so nobody wanted to start it. Finally Hermione decided to break the silence.

"Why did you do that Harry?" she asked.

Harry was surprised to see to the knowing expression on her face. _Could Hermione know?_ Harry wondered.

"What do you mean?" he asked her trying to keep his voice stable.

"You know what I mean, Harry." she said.

He was stunned momentarily. He thought that he acted most convincingly back in Dumbledore's office. But then again, she was the brightest witch of her age. _If Hermione wasn't fooled then surely Dumbledore..._ he thought.

"How did you find out?" he finally asked her.

Ron didn't seem to understand anything that the two of them were talking about but he decided to keep quiet, atleast for now.

"Well, first after you finished asking Dumbledore your questions, you got up but didn't leave the room immediately. You didn't even leave when you had the chance after you told me 'no'." she said slowly, observing Harry's face.

She continued saying, "You waited until your parents asked you a question. You made them ask more questions and eventually shouted at them and ended it with the ultimate blow you could give them, Sirius's death. You're not that cruel Harry. You did this for a reason." she finished.

"Wait a minute, you purposefully shouted at them?!" Ron exclaimed, finally catching up.

Harry let out a sigh and said, "Yes Ron, I purposefully shouted at them."

"But why, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I don't want them here, in my life."

"What? But you always wanted parents, a family, didn't you?" Ron asked.

"My life is not safe. There is a psycho-maniac killer whom I should kill or he'll kill me. And I really don't think that Voldemort would leave my family, do you?" Harry shouted.

"Harry, calm down. Do you think that your parents will just leave if you push them aside? They will stay here." Hermione said.

"She's right, mate. You're acting like a noble git." Ron said.

"Then they'll just die, like Sirius." Harry stated slowly. "And if they do die, then what about that little girl?"

"What about her?" Ron asked.

"Did you see how she clung to her mother in the morning? She lived her entire life with loving parents. She doesn't know how to live without them. I can't ruin her family."

"But it's your family too." Ron said.

"I can live without a family. I've been doing it for the last fifteen years of my life." he added bitterly.

"Harry.." Hermione said and continued only when he looked at her face, "It wasn't a total act, was it? You really did mean a few things that you said, didn't you?" she asked.

Harry stared at her for a while and finally gave a small nod.

 **A.N:** What do you guys think? Liked it? Didn't like it? Please tell me how it was!

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	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

 **Chapter - 11**

After the couple walked out of his office, Dumbledore sat in the chair behind his desk and let out a tired sigh. The wizard was exhausted with the turnout of the day's events. He kept wondering if things could have been any different if approached in another manner. But he knew that it was better not to dwell on finished matters. Finally with a heavy and troubled mind, Dumbledore retired for the night.

The first thing that the Headmaster of Hogwarts did the next morning was write a letter to Remus Lupin. Dumbledore believed that the truth must be told to the werewolf as soon as possible. He spoke of nothing in the letter but to meet him in his office at noon to discuss a rather urgent matter.

No sooner than he sent the letter, there was a knock on his door. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the day that was just starting, and asked whoever that was waiting on the other side of the door to come in. The door opened to show the Potters along with their daughter, which slightly surprised Dumbledore since he wasn't expecting the girl to accompany her parents. It was also clear that the couple had cried a lot the previous night. Their eyes were red and their faces looked exhausted.

"Good morning. Please have a seat." he said to the family. After they settle down opposite to him, he asked, "Seeing as how your daughter is here with you, I guess that you told her what happened yesterday?"

"Yes Sir, we told her this morning before coming here." James answered quietly. Dumbledore felt quite sad to hear her voice like that but he decided that he had to talk with Harry first to confirm his suspicions. So not wanting to say anything about Harry, Dumbledore decided to ask the couple the questions that were burning in his head since he first realized that Lily and James were alive.

"If you don't mind, I would like to ask a few questions." he started but only to be interrupted by Lily.

"Professor, where is Harry? We want to talk to him once."

"He is in his class, I assume." Dumbledore said and continued before she could ask any more questions, "What I want to know is how the both of you were alive and more importantly, how come no one knew it."

"How we survived the attack is still a mystery to us. But after that day we were never stable at any place. The thought that we couldn't protect our son and that he died haunted us. We finally settled in the United States when Emma was born." James said looking at the little girl who was sitting between him and Lily.

"We didn't come back to England because the very thought reminded us of our baby and we were scared that everyone would hate us for leaving. But we never thought that you would think that we died." Lily told.

"Am I correct in thinking that you lived among the muggles for these many years?" he asked.

"Yes, we lived among muggles but we sometimes went to the Piscon Plaza, which is like Diagon Alley, to get a few supplies from time to time. But we mostly kept to ourselves. Magic wasn't a major part of our lives anymore. We both work in the muggle world." James said.

"I see." Dumbledore said and became lost in his thoughts until he was disturbed by James.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, how did Sirius die?"

Dumbledore looked up to see his face and could see the tears that were slowly forming in his eyes.

"James, he died in a battle. He died trying to protect Harry from Voldemort."

"Voldemort?! But yesterday, you said that his body vanished on that day. I thought that that meant he died?" Lily asked him.

"He never died Lily. He just lost his body and powers that night. But about more than a year ago, he came back to power."

"How did he do that?" a small voice asked him. Dumbledore looked down to the owner of the voice and saw Emma. Her face was filled with fear and her eyes opened wide in shock. It was as if she herself was surprised to hear the question from her mouth.

Dumbledore gave her a small reassuring smile before continuing. "He did that with the help of one of his servants and with your brother's blood, . The worst part of it is that Harry had witness Voldemort's resurrection." he concluded turning to face James and Lily.

"He what?!" Lily shrieked. "How could you let that happen?"

"Now is not the time for the full story, my dear." Dumbledore said, not wanting to go into the details.

"Who was that idiot servant?" James asked.

"Peter Pettigrew." he said without offering any explanations.

"Wormtail?! What do you mean? How can he be alive? I thought he died that night?" asked James.

"Dumbledore eyed the man in front of him and asked, "Why would you think that he died?"

"Voldemort must have tortured him to get our location and finally killed him! Peter wouldn't betray us." James said indignantly.

Dumbledore was shocked for a moment. He reprimanded himself for telling them about Pettigrew. ' _Of course they don't know that he betrayed them. Why would they think that their friend turned as a traitor that lead to their troubled lives?'_

He took a deep breath and started to tell them what really happened that night and how Sirius got sent to Azkaban without a trial.

As soon as he finished, Lily gasped in shock while James growled "That rat! When I get my hands on him..." he trailed off.

"Perhaps James... but we have other matters on our hands, like Remus." Dumbledore said. He could see the guilt build up in the man's eyes at the thought of his friend.

"Sir, I really don't want to face him, not now. I don't think I can handle another fiasco like the one with Harry." James said.

"He needs all the support he can get now. Sirius's death left him devastated. He needs his friends." Dumbledore said.

Lily took his hand and squeezed it gently while saying, "We can't hide forever and it might be better to just get it over with soon James."

Seeing the uncertainty on his face, she continued, "Even I'm scared to face him, but we owe him the truth."

James let out a sigh and said "You're right. We owe him the truth. When can we meet him?" he asked Dumbledore.

"Well, it might be better if I talked to Remus first before you meet him, so that I can explain the situation." Dumbledore answered.

"That would probably be the best way." said Lily.

"So, when will you talk to him?" James asked nervously.

"I wrote a letter to him asking him to come to Hogwarts around noon." he said.

"And where shall we be during the entire time?" Lily questioned.

"I have been thinking about that and I feel that you staying at Hogwarts might not be the best way of keeping, the fact that you never died, a secret. I think that you should stay at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London."

"Grimmauld Place? That sounds familiar." James said. "Isn't that Sirius's parents' place?" he asked after a thought.

"Yes James, it is." Dumbledore said and added after seeing his doubtful face, "It's probably the safest place that I can think of for now."

"Should we leave now itself Professor?" Lily asked.

"That would be helpful, Lily. I trust that you remember how to use the floo?"

After a quick response, the three Potters got up and went over to the fireplace. James went first, so that he could show Emma how to use the floo, then Emma and finally Lily.

After the departure of the Potters, Dumbledore didn't have much time to gather his thoughts before the door flow open to show the ragged appearance of one Remus Lupin. The werewolf came hurriedly into the room while exclaiming, "Albus, I got your letter. What happened? Is it Harry?"

It was obvious that Remus was worried about Harry, the only link he had left to his best friends who were now all dead, or so he thought. But he didn't that he was going to get the biggest surprise in his entire life.

"Remus, it is good to see. Do not panic. Nothing is wrong, quite the opposite, I feel." said Dumbledore. "Please have a seat and I shall explain." he said gesturing him to sit.

Remus couldn't help but feel relieved that everything was alright. But the tone in which Dumbledore spoke make him wonder that something was going on, something big. He sat opposite to Dumbledore and looked at him with an expression that made it clear that he wanted to know what was so urgent immediately.

"Now, you might not believe what I am going to tell but please trust me when I say that it is the truth." the Headmaster said gently.

Remus wondered what could have happened that would make him think _Dumbledore_ , of all people, was lying. He saw that the Headmaster was waiting for a reply from him. So, Remus replied to him by giving a nod of his head. He was then told of everything that happened in the past two days, including Harry's burst towards his parents and how the Potters had stayed in America and avoided magic thus making it hard to detect them.

After Dumbledore stopped talking, to say that Remus was shocked would be an understatement. It was as if his wildest wish had come true. ' _James was alive! Lily was alive! His friends! How could they stay away for so many years?'_

Remus forgot that he was in Dumbledore's office until the Headmaster had started talking again. "But they feel awfully guilty after they learned of what all happened, especially about Sirius." he said softly.

That immediately bought him out of his thoughts as Remus asked, "They know about Sirius? How did they find out?"

"They know Remus, and it was not broken gently to them either, I'm afraid." he said and continued, "I know that this is too much to ask from you of all people, given the emotional turmoil you've been through till now, but could you help Lily and James out with everything? It is rather hard to cope after finding out that their son is alive and one of their best friends is dead and another is a traitor."

"I cannot say you're wrong, Albus. You don't know half of what I've been through all these years. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about this situation, but I will help them." Remus assured him. "Where are they staying now?" he asked.

"They're at Grimmauld Place. They are waiting to meet you again." said Dumbledore.

"And you expect me to go there right now, don't you?" he asked.

"If you can, then that would be most helpful. But I would understand if you want to wait so that you can think it through."

Remus thought for sometime about the whole situation. The fact that _James and Lily Potter were still alive_ and have been all these years was rather a lot to wrap around the mind. And that Harry didn't accept his parents wasn't of any help either. Then suddenly, Remus got from his chair, surprising himself in the process, and made way to the fireplace. He bid Dumbledore a good day, took a handful of floo powder and went to Grimmauld Place.

As soon as Remus stepped out of the fireplace, he was overcome with a glum feeling as he was reminded of Sirius. He looked in the direction of the kitchen table half thinking to find Sirius, with a moody expression, but instead greeted by two faces that he thought he would never see in his life again.

He was overcome with a nostalgic feeling by seeing Lily and James and was even more surprised to see a small girl sitting with them. There was no doubt in Remus mind that she was their daughter. He wondered why Dumbledore didn't mention about her. He stood there gaping at them still finding it difficult to believe even though they were standing right in front of him. Remus opened his mouth to speak but found his mouth dry and couldn't find words to express.

"Moony.." James said.

"James.. Lily..." Remus said unable to say more. Finally he went and hugged his friends who hugged him back just as tightly and soon it became difficult for them all to breath. Remus let them go and then took a good look at them. As he looked at James, he couldn't help but think how much Harry resembled him. A look at Lily made him feel that he forgot how kind and gentle she looked. But Remus knew better then to think that about Lily as she could give even Molly Weasley a run for her money if she got angry.

Remus looked at the girl and asked her, "And who might you be?"

The young girl looked slightly startled when she saw that he was directly addressing her. It seemed as she was scared to answer the man.

"Her name is Emma, Remus." Lily said softly before adding, "She's your goddaughter."

Remus was astonished to hear that he had a goddaughter and he didn't even know about her. He gave her a smile and turned to face James.

"I don't even knew what to say but I'm sorry, Remus. I'm sorry for leaving without telling you and I'm sorry for everything else." James told him.

Remus looked at him for a few moments before he said, "I can't tell you that I forgive you but I can tell you that I understand. And even I'm sorry." Remus said.

"What are you sorry for Remus? You didn't do anything." Lily asked.

He let out a sigh before continuing and said, "For how you found out about everything. I mean what happened with Harry and then Sirius..." he trailed off unable to continue.

Soon there was an uncomfortable silence in the room for nobody had anything to say to each other. The silence was broken by Lily when she asked, "Do you think he will forgive us Remus?"

He knew that she was asking about Harry. Remus had no doubt in his mind that Harry would come around sooner or later but he had no idea how to explain it to his parents.

"I think he will, Lily. Harry faced a lot in his life till now and he just lost his godfather. So he might be reluctant to let anyone come close to him so soon." he said, try to assure her.

"Tell us about him." James said and Remus could see that it pained them both that they had to ask someone else about their son.

"Well, he's a good boy whose heart is in the right place, for starters." he started. He decided to tell them about his qualities but not about the major part of his life as that was Harry's story to tell.

Everyone was so absorbed in their conversation that they were startled when they heard the front door open and close. Then the sound of someone stumbling over the umbrella stand followed it soon. Remus knew that there was only one person clumsy enough to trip over the stand and that one person also happened to be the one Remus was trying to avoid for quite some time now.

"Remus Lupin, I know that you're here." Tonks started shouting angrily, as soon as she passed the portrait of . Her footsteps became clearer as she came closer to the kitchen.

"Lupin, don't you dare try to avoid me now. We have to talk." she said as she opened the door. It was clear that she didn't know about the presence of three other people in the room as her eyes were focused on the man in front of her.

"Tonks, now is not the time for this. And we have already talked about it." he said trying to made her stop shouting.

"No, Remus, we didn't talk. You just gave me a lecture about how you are not good enough for me, but the fact that I don't care and that I love you never registered in your brain. What do I have to do to make you understand that I love you and only you?" Tonks said ending in a soft tone.

"You don't ..." Remus started but was interrupted by James.

"Moony, what is this I hear about you rejecting this beautiful girl?" he asked in a teasing manner.

Tonks immediately turned towards them and took in their presence for the first time after she entered the kitchen. She had her wand out and pointed towards them before they could even blink their eyes.

"What is going on here?" she asked Remus without taking her eyes off of the Potters.

"That's what I was trying to explain before you started shouting. This is Lily and James Potter and that little girl is their daughter, Emma." Remus said.

Tonks looked at Remus as if he was mad and said gently, "Remus, the Potters are dead."

Remus explained everything that happened to her and it was only then that she had lowered her wand. Remus knew that Tonks had a million questions but instead she turned towards them and said, "Sorry about my reaction. Anyways, I'm Nymphadora Tonks but DO NOT call me that. It's Tonks."

 **A.N:** Please leave a review. It would make my day!


	13. Chapter 13

**A.N:** So this chapter has mainly Harry and Ginny. Hope you enjoy!

 **DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!

 **Chapter – 12**

The rest of the first week at Hogwarts was uneventful for Harry after the first day. The week went by in a blur. Harry didn't know how to feel about what all had happened. He found it difficult to grasp his head around the idea that he was not an orphan anymore, that he had a family. Should he feel happy that he had someone who will finally love him, like the Weasleys or maybe even more then they care for him? Should he feel scared about what will happen if Voldemort finds out about his parents? Should he feel angry at them for abandoning him?  
Of course he knew that it wasn't their fault. They just couldn't bear the thought that their son died, so they left. Harry knew that he shouldn't hold that against them, but he couldn't help but think what would have happened if they had just checked once. Then there was that little girl to think about, his sister. He didn't even know her name. He didn't even know she existed. He wondered if she knew about him. Did his parents tell her about their previous lives, the lives that they left behind them, about the son they thought had died?

By Saturday afternoon, Harry found himself sitting in the shadow of a tree near the Black Lake, deeply lost in his thoughts. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he slightly jumped up when he heard a soft voice call his name from behind him.

"Hi Harry." the voice said. He didn't have to turn and see the face to know whom the voice belonged to.

"Ginny..." Harry said turning to face the girl whom he was trying to avoid. He knew that Ginny would soon figure out that something was wrong with him and surely she would ask him. He had not figured out what he would tell her but he knew that he couldn't lie to her. So, instead he started avoiding her.

It was as if all his tensions and thoughts vanished at the mere sight of her. She stood standing in front of him, her long red hair blowing along with the wind and a smile on her face. Her eyes were filled with love when she looked at him and it made him feel even more guilty that he didn't talk with her since he ran into her in the corridor on the first day.

"Ginny!" he said again.

"Hey! Can I sit with you?" she asked him as she sat down.

"I think you're supposed to wait until I give an answer." he said while moving to make place for her.

Ginny gave him a smile that made his heartbeat rise while he forgot everything in the world but her. She moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder and Harry wrapped his hand around her waist. They both fell in a comfortable silence, content with each other for that moment. Soon the only sound that they could hear was their soft breathing. Neither of them disturbed the silence for they both didn't know how to start the upcoming conversation.

After sometime, Ginny asked, "Do you have something to tell me?"

Harry turned so that he could see her face clearly. It was easy to tell that she was worried about him. He already decided that he would tell her the truth when the time came and it hit him like lighting that the time was now. He looked at her for a minute before responding, "I don't know where to start."

"Why don't you start with the fact that you have been avoiding me?" she asked.

"I haven't been..." he started, trying to defend himself when Ginny interrupted.

"Don't deny it, Harry. You didn't speak with me for the entire week. The first time that you talked to me after I saw you the first day was during Quidditch tryouts, _in front of the whole team._ " she added, seeing his expression and continued. "Listen Harry, I don't know what's going on but it is because of me, then I'll understand if you want to break up. . ." she said, trailing off.

"WHAT!?" Harry asked. "W-Why would you think that? Ginny, don't even think like that. Why would I want to breakup with you?"

Ginny looked relieved to hear that. Her face lit up and had the biggest smile that Harry had ever seen on her face. Soon her expression sobered up and she asked, "Then what's wrong? You seemed moody. I even asked Ron and Hermione about you. But even they were disturbed and unwilling to give an answer. Ron said that only you can explain. I was shocked that _Ron_ valued your privacy."

Harry felt a sense of gratitude towards his best friend. He let out a sigh and said, "My parents."

"Your parents?" she asked confusedly. "What do your parents have to do with anything?"

When he didn't answer, she asked softly, "Do you miss them? It's natural to feel so and nothing to be ashamed of."

"They're not dead, Ginny. They are alive and have been so for the past fifteen years."

"What do you mean? Everyone knows that James and Lily Potter died on that Halloween night."

"That's what everyone thought. Dumbledore said that it was probably one of the worst mistakes he ever made." Harry said.

"I'm not following you." she said frowning.

"He told me that their bodies were never found, so he assumed that they died. But the truth is when they woke up, after the attack, they saw the blasted crib and room and they thought that I died. It seems that they were filled with grief and they left the country without telling anyone." he told her, in a monotonous voice. His face was unreadable, blank of any emotions.

"Wh-what!?" she exclaimed. "Your parents are alive? Is this what you found out on the first day?"

Harry nodded while staring at the surface of the lake. He could even see the giant squid trying to poke it's head out of the water.

"That's why you've been acting weird all week." she mumbled.

It wasn't a question but more of a statement but still he said, "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"I don't know." he said letting out a sigh. "I guess I wanted to know how I felt about the whole situation before I told anyone."

"And did you figure out how you're feeling about it then?" she asked him.

"You want to know the truth?"

"You better tell me the truth, Potter. Lies make me angry and you know what happens if I get angry." she said playfully, while a small smile formed around the corner of her lips.

Harry knew that it was a harmless threat, but he couldn't help wince involuntarily. After all, Ginny Weasley had quite the reputation for casting a Bat-Bogey hex in Hogwarts and anyone who pissed her off could easily be at the receiving end if the curse.

"The truth is I don't know. I thought that I would be able to know by now but I don't." he said running his hand through his unruly messy black hair.

"What did your parents say? How did they find out that you were alive after all these years?" she asked.

Harry then told her the whole story, including the trip to Diagon Alley, how he ran from the room, how he was, and is, afraid of what would happen if Voldemort, or anyone else for that matter, found out and how he yelled at them.

After he finished telling her the entire story, Ginny wrapped her hands around him, nestled closer and whispered, "Oh Harry!"

The young couple didn't know how much time had passed as they sat under the tree.

"They have a daughter too, you know." he said slowly, after sometime.

Ginny let go of him and looked into his eyes.

"That means you have a sister." she said. "You have a family."

Harry snorted as a response. "No, I don't."

"Why would you say that?" she asked.

"I really don't think that I could pretend I'm happy to suddenly have parents when I spent my whole life believing that they were dead. I know that I shouldn't hold that against them but I can't help think how my life could have been."

"Maybe you should try talking to them once about how you feel."

"But that's just it. I didn't see them from that day. If they wanted me in their lives, then they should have at least try to contact me, shouldn't they?" he asked her, the hurt evident in his voice.

"Harry, you just told me that you, their son, yelled at them, blaming them for how your life had been, and told them that your father's best friend died. They need time to grasp everything." Ginny said, using the tone one would use when trying to explain something to a toddler.

Harry shifted around in the grass feeling guilty for his actions and mumbled something about trying to get them to go back to where they came from since it's not safe here.

Ginny caught it immediately and huffed at him. "Honestly, Harry, I'm starting to wonder whether if you are thicker than Ron."

After receiving an indignant look from him, she said, "Did you think that just because an idiotic git shouts at them, they would leave and that too when they know that their son is being targeted?"

When Harry didn't look at her, she continued, "Why don't you reach out to them? It would make them happy and even you know that you want them in your life." she said. "Even if you don't want to admit it." she added.

Harry thought about everything Ginny said and finally said, "You're right. I'll try to talk to them first."

Ginny smirked at him and said, "I'm always right."

* * *

After having the discussion with Ginny, Harry felt better. It was as if a small burden had been removed from his shoulders. He decided that he would tell Dumbledore, during one of their private sessions, that he was ready to meet his parents once again.

The little scroll informing him of his lesson with Dumbledore came sooner than Harry had expected. As Harry made his way to Dumbledore's office for his first lesson with the Headmaster, he thought of what he would say to him regarding his parents.

When Harry went inside the office, the first thing that caught his sight was the shiny pensive. Dumbledore explained about how they would use the lessons to know more about Voldemort or more precisely, his childhood and family.

Soon he was in the memory of one Bob Ogden and he saw the encounter between Bob and the Gaunts. Succeeding the memory followed a conversation about what they had observed. At last, as Dumbledore was about to dismiss him, Harry brought up the topic of his parents.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would speak of that, Harry. But I must say, I do not agree to what you did the other evening." Dumbledore said, reprimanding him. "And, am I correct in guessing that you did it for a reason?" he asked.

"Yes Sir." Harry replied.

"Harry, you must remember that both your parents are talented at magic and they will not sit aside while others are fighting and you cannot make them do that. Is that clear?"

When Harry nodded, he said, "You remind me of them a lot in such matters." He smiled at the boy.

"Professor, do you know where they are now? I need to speak with them. I want to apologize to them." he said somewhat hastily.

Dumbledore observed Harry for a few moments, with a twinkle in his piercing blue eyes and said, "I think that would make Lily and James quite happy. They are currently at Grimmauld Place. I believe you may go to visit them during the weekend."

Harry didn't answer for he was thinking about how he can go to Grimmauld Place again. The house still haunted him and reminded him of Sirius more then anything. Dumbledore seemed to sense his tension at the mention of the house.

"Or perhaps it would be better to arrange a meeting here, in Hogwarts, instead?" he asked gently.

"That would be better." Harry agreed.

He left the Headmaster's office feeling knowing that he had two to three days time until he faced his parents again.

 **A.N:** What do you all think? Please leave a review!

The next chapter will be 'The talk' between Harry, Lily and James and hopefully an interaction between Harry and his sister.


	14. Chapter 14

**A.N:** Sorry for the delay, but my college started and it wasn't possible to write. Soo Soorryy!

 **DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

 **Chapter-13**

The current residents of Grimmauld Place, with the exception of Emma, who was sleeping in her room, sat in the living room, which was warmer than ever, due to the courtesy of Molly Weasley and how she made everyone clean when they stayed in the house last summer. Lily sat next to James and cuddled close to her husband on the couch while Remus sat in one of the armchairs, the other armchair being occupied by Tonks, who was also staying with them, in the house, as she didn't want to give Remus a chance to run from her again. She swore not to reveal the secret that the Potter couple was alive and only left the house when needed on missions for the Order.

Both Lily and James took a liking to the young auror, instantly after talking to her. After conversing with her, Lily understood how much she loved Remus and that she certainly would not let him go. Lily knew that Remus thought of himself as a monster who was capable of doing horrors, when in reality, he wouldn't even harm a fly. She was certain that as long as Tonks is in his life, he would have the love he deserved. She just hoped that the werewolf would realize it sooner than later.

 _One evening, a couple of days after the Potters had first arrived at Grimmauld Place, Lily was alone in the kitchen, cooking, while her husband and his friend were entertaining Emma with stories of their days at Hogwarts. Lily was so concentrated on the task at hand that she didn't hear the kitchen door open and close behind her. She slightly jumped when she heard a voice._

 _"_ _Wotcher!" said Tonks._

 _"_ _Tonks!" exclaimed Lily. "Don't scare me like that!"_

 _"_ _Sorry." she said and asked, "Where are the boys?"_

 _"_ _They are with Emma. I'm sure you can find them upstairs in the parlor or somewhere." Lily said and turned to face the stove._

 _When she didn't hear any movement, she looked at Tonks and asked, "What's the matter? You seem worried about something."_

 _Tonks paused for a moment before asking Lily, "Can I ask you a question?"_

 _"_ _Of course." said Lily smiling gently at the younger witch. She lead her to the table where they both sat down._

 _"_ _What do you want to ask me about?" she asked, although she felt that she knew just what they were going to talk about._

 _Tonks took a deep breath and said, "Remus."_

 _When Lily probed her to go on, Tonks continued, "I can understand why he's being so distant from me. He rarely lets anyone in but right now he's just being plain stupid. I know that he loves me just as much as I do him. Why won't he accept it?"_

 _"_ _I can't say that I didn't notice how differently he acts around you but I know for a fact that convincing Remus to admit his feelings isn't an easy task." the older witch confessed._

 _Tonks considered Lily's words before saying, "I know that. That's why I want your help."_

 _Seeing Lily's confused expression, she added, "You knew him for a long time. Surely you can make him see sense."_

 _"_ _I don't know about that but I'll my best to help. Remus deserves to have love in his life, you both do." she said thoughtfully._

But that was few days ago. At that instant, as she sat in the living room, her thoughts were revolving around her sixteen year old son, who still didn't contact them. And the fact that even Dumbledore didn't talk about Harry worried her even more. She was deeply hurt by the way that the teen had spoken to her and James. Though she kept a brave face of the sake of her daughter, the entire charade fell apart in the absence of Emma.

She was deeply worried that her son would never forgive her, that he would remain angry with her forever. Her son! The last time she knew him, he was a baby who couldn't be for more than a few mere moments without seeing her, a baby who would be content to just sleep on her shoulder while his little chubby hands were buried in her hair. But now he was almost an adult who had no memories whatsoever of his parents, lived a tormented life as a child. He grew up without any loving words spoken towards him believing that he was a freak, as he so put it. Lily wanted nothing more at that minute than to hold her son in her arms and tell him how sorry she was.

But her stream of disturbing thoughts was interrupted when the roaring sound of the fireplace in the kitchen reached her ears. All the four adults sat up immediately and became alert due to the sound. They were about to get up from their respective places when the door to the living room opened to show the tall figure of Albus Dumbledore. The wizard entered the room and made his way to one of the empty chairs.

He smiled at the others and said, "I am sorry to barge in, but I trust that you are enjoying your evening?"

"Albus," said Remus. "Not that it's not good to see you but is anything wrong?" he asked, clearly concerned by the sudden appearance of the Headmaster.

"Is it Harry? Professor, is he alright?" Lily asked with the worry etched in her tone.

"Ah Lily, How many times do I have to tell you to call me Albus? I am not your teacher anymore."

"Sorry Prof – Albus. Old habits die hard, I guess." said James, apologizing on his wife's behalf.

"Yes, it will take a little getting used to." said the old wizard.

"You still didn't answer Lily's question." James reminded.

"Well, I think that I would be right in saying that nothing is wrong. In fact, I believe that it's quite the opposite." he said pausing for a second and continued, "You happen to be right, Lily, but only partially. Harry is the reason that I'm here. But rest assured that he is fine." he added seeing the faces of the worried parents.

"You see, I had a private lesson with Harry yesterday. At the end of the lesson, he told me that he wanted to meet the two of you, to apologize." Dumbledore said gently.

Lily couldn't believe what she just heard. Harry wanted to meet them. She never thought that Harry would be the one to reach out first. She looked over to her husband who at first sight, seemed to be in shock, but as soon as he overcame the initial surprise, he seemed to be filled with joy.

"Harry, he wants to meet us?" James asked.

"Yes." said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling as merrily as ever.

"When?" breathed Lily.

"Forgive me for not consoling you before I told Harry, but I told him that you can meet him this weekend."

"This weekend is fine, in fact wonderful, for us." James said.

"So, will he come here on Saturday? Or Sunday?" Remus asked.

"Let it be Saturday." Lily said forcefully before Dumbledore could say anything else. She didn't want to extend meeting Harry again for even one more day.

"Initially, I recommended Grimmauld Place. But Harry refused to come here. So I felt that Hogwarts would be better." Dumbledore said. Seeing the confused looks on their faces, he added, "He said that this house reminds him of his godfather."

The others didn't know what to say to that statement. Soon after, Dumbledore left the house, telling the couple to floo to his office on Saturday morning. A silence settled over the room which was soon disturbed with a pecking sound in the window. Lily went over to see what it was and found a snowy white owl perched on the window still with a letter tied to its leg. Lily took the letter from the owl and saw that it was addressed to Remus.

"Remus, the letter's for you." Lily said, handing it to the man.

After seeing the front of the letter, he said, "It's from Harry."

"Hello Hedwig." said Tonks to the owl that apparently flow into the room and sat on the hand of the chair that Tonks was currently sitting in.

"How do you know that the letter's from Harry? You didn't even open it." James asked Remus.

"It's his handwriting on the cover. And besides, Hedwig is Harry's owl." answered Remus.

"Oh." was all that Lily could say. It felt wrong for her not to be able to identify her own son's handwriting. She didn't even know that Harry had an owl. But they did, Remus and Tonks did, as did many others. They knew many things about Harry that Lily, his mother, didn't.

"What did the letter say, Moony?" James asked after Remus finished reading it.

"Um..." said Remus, looking uncertain.

"What happened?" Lily asked as she recovered from her thoughts.

"Nothing. He just wrote to say hello." Remus said quickly, without meeting her eyes.

"Moony, you were never a good liar." James said. "Now the truth, if you can."

"Really, that's what he wrote." he repeated.

That resulted in a glare from Lily. It was clear that he was testing her temper and this made Remus quiver under her.

"I want the truth, Remus." she said slowly.

Remus took a deep breath and said, "He wants advice on how to talk to the two of you. He's nervous to meet you and apparently feels ashamed for yelling." he finished with a hint of guilt in his voice.

At these words, Lily was unable to stop the tears from falling. She moved closer to James as to both offer and take comfort from him. She didn't know what to say. Harry wrote to Remus to ask what he should say to _his parents_.

"He shouldn't be going through all these. We should have been there for him." Lily said through her sobs.

James didn't have any words that could offer her comfort. Instead he gently took her closer in his arms and rubbed her on the back while making shushing sounds.

* * *

The following Saturday morning was bright and the sunlight filled the sky since there wasn't a single cloud to be seen within eyesight. The weather was the complete opposite of what Harry was feeling in the inside. Today was the day he would be meeting his parents for the first time, _really_ meeting that is. He had no idea what he would say to them. The only thing he knew was that he was going to apologize for his earlier behavior.

In fact, he even scheduled Quidditch practice for the Gryffindor team after lunch so that he would have an excuse to leave if things dragged on and his parents didn't leave by that time. He knew that his parents would arrive at around 10. Even if he stayed for an hour and a half with them, he would have plenty of time to have lunch and go to the Quidditch pitch.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted. The three of them, along with Ginny, were sitting in the Great Hall and were having breakfast.

"What?" Harry said, poking at his food without eating.

"You have to eat something, Harry. It won't do to have an empty stomach." Ginny said.

Ron grunted in response and said something which Harry thought was an attempt to persuade him to eat, as his mouth was filled with food.

"Urgh! Ron, don't talk with your mouth full. Honestly, it's a surprise that you can even make a sound." Hermione yelled at him.

Harry kept a few spoons of egg in his mouth, grabbed a piece of toast and got up from the table.

"I'm leaving." he said to both Ron and Hermione and asked Ginny, "Fancy going for a walk?"

Ron and Hermione both wished him good luck for later while Ginny took his hand and lead him out of the Great Hall. They were silent until they came out to the grounds.

"Thanks for asking me to come out. I don't think I could have listened to their bickering." said Ginny.

Harry chuckled and said, "You'd think that I would have got used to it by know."

"How long do you think it will take for them to go and snog each other?"

"I feel that we can foresee it in the near future." said Harry trying to adopt Trelawney's voice.

Ginny giggled at his ridiculous tone and said, "Since when did you become a divination expert? Last time I checked you got a P in that subject."

Harry smiled at her as she laughed. They continued to talk more about all things in general until Ginny reminded him that he had to go inside. That small reminder sobered him up and they changed their path as they headed to where Harry had to meet his parents.

Dumbledore had offered Harry to use his office but Hermione suggested that it was better to use an empty classroom. So they picked out an unused classroom and put a few charms on it, courtesy of Hermione, to ensure that no student would wander into the room while it was in use.

After they reached the classroom, Ginny asked, "You nervous?"

When Harry didn't answer, she said, "It'll be alright, Harry. They're your parents."

"Should I call them Mum and Dad or by their names?" Harry asked after a while.

"What do you mean?"

"They are practically strangers to me, Ginny. How can I call them Mum and Dad? It would be weird for me." Harry said in a slow voice.

Ginny thought for sometime before answering, "Avoid calling them anything. It shouldn't be so hard."

Harry seemed to be too tensed and worried. Unable to see him so, Ginny pulled him near and started to kiss him. The kiss started as a harmless and slow one but soon turned into a passionate and heated kiss between them. They stayed like that until both of them ran out of breath. Slowly, they pulled apart and stared at each other.

"Feeling better now?" Ginny whispered to him.

He gave her a sheepish grin and opened his mouth to answer when he heard a sound from the door. They both whipped around to see Lily and James Potter standing in the doorway, looking unsure about what to say.

 **A.N:** I know that I said that there would be a conversation between them but I felt to involve a bit of Tonks and Remus. The next update will be really soon, within a week. The next chapter will be filled with parents and son.

Read and Review!


	15. Chapter 15

**A.N:** Well, the much awaited meeting between Harry and his parents is finally here! Hope you all like it.

 **DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

 **Chapter - 14**

Lily rolled around in the bed trying to block out the obnoxiously loud sound of her husband's snoring and the bright sunlight that was entering the room from the gaps in the curtains. She didn't want to get up just yet. Suddenly it hit her like lightning that today was Saturday. Saturday, the day she and James had to go to Hogwarts, to meet with Harry. Lily immediately sat up on the bed as the anxiety for the day ahead filled her.

She got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After having a nice, long bath, she made her way towards the kitchen. On the way to the kitchen, she peeked into her daughter's room. She smiled a little when she saw Emma in a deep sleep, untroubled and happy. As Lily left the room, she recollected the argument that occurred between Emma and her parents, the previous night.

 _"_ _Tomorrow's Saturday." Emma said._

 _The Potter family sat in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place with Remus. Tonks had to go on an urgent mission for the Order. Lily let out a sigh as she understood what Emma was trying to get to._

 _"_ _Yes, Em. Tomorrow's Saturday and the day after is Sunday. But I thought we already taught you the days of the week." James said, laughing._

 _"_ _Dad!" yelled the girl. "I know the days of the week." she said outrageously._

 _"_ _Then why didn't you say so?" James asked her._

 _"_ _James! Quit teasing her." said Remus, interfering between the father and daughter._

 _"_ _Why don't you say what's on your mind, darling?" Lily asked gently._

 _"_ _Um... You both are going to Hogwarts, aren't you?" Emma asked her parents._

 _When Lily nodded her head, she continued in a small voice, "I want to come with you."_

 _"_ _Emma, you already asked that question." Lily said. "And we already told you the answer."_

 _"_ _But Mum, that's not fair. Why can't I come with you?" the girl cried out of frustration._

 _"_ _Because we don't know what will happen." James replied._

 _"_ _But I want to meet my brother!" Emma shouted._

 _James and Lily exchanged glances at each other, unsure of what to tell her. They didn't tell her how Harry had shouted at them. But since they had to tell her something, they told her that Harry had asked for some time to adjust to the changes. The main reason that both Lily and James didn't want to take Emma with them was because they were afraid, afraid of might what happen. They didn't know how their son felt about having parents in his life, let alone having a sibling._

 _"_ _Emma," said Remus, moving closer to the girl. "Let your mum and dad go alone tomorrow. We'll do whatever you want, just you, me and if want, we'll include Tonks. And if it's possible, I'll take you to the Quidditch shop in Diagon Alley and maybe even for some ice-cream. How does that sound?"_

 _Emma looked at Remus for a minute as if wondering whether or not to accept his offer. Then, slowly, she nodded her head. But she also added, "But you have to promise me that, you will take me with you the next time." she said in her parents direction._

 _"_ _Sure thing." James said, while Lily silently mouthed the words 'thank you' to Remus._

Lily came out of her thoughts as she entered the kitchen. She made her way over to the cupboards which stored all the ingredients required to make breakfast. Lily took all that she needed and started making eggs, bacon, sausages and pancakes.

The kitchen door opened as Lily started to plate all the food on the table. Lily turned around to find her husband, all dressed and ready for the day. He gave her a smile and asked, "Tensed much?"

"What makes you say that?" Lily asked him, as he approached her.

"Lil, do you know how much you cooked?" he said eyeing the food.

"What's wrong with how much I cooked?"

"There's enough food in here to feed an army!"

When Lily didn't answer, he took her into his arms and pulled her close to him.

"You're worried, aren't you?" he asked her.

Lily nodded her head and said in a barely audible voice, "I'm scared James. What if he still hates us?"

But before James could answer, the kitchen door opened again and this time both Remus and Tonks came into the room. Lily hastily broke apart from James and wiped the tears that started forming in her eyes.

"Morning!" Tonks said brightly. Lily tried her best to smile at her but it was more of a grimace. Soon the adults sat at the table and had their breakfast. Nobody talked much, for none knew what to say. After breakfast, as Lily started washing the plates, she said, "Thanks again for taking care of Emma for today."

"Not a problem." said Tonks.

"I think you better hurry up, otherwise you'll be late." said Remus.

"You're right. We should go." said James. He took Lily's hand and led the way to the fireplace.

"Tell Harry that we said hi." said Tonks and waved bye to the couple.

The couple stumbled out of the fireplace in Dumbledore's office. After exchanging pleasantries with the Headmaster, they left the study and made their way to the classroom where Dumbledore told them to go to.

"Here we are." said James when they came in front of the room.

"Here we are." Lily repeated and let out a sigh.

James looked at her and said, "We'll go inside whenever you are ready."

Lily grabbed his hand in her's and squeezed it lightly. "I'm ready as I'll ever be."

They opened the door to the classroom and entered the room to find it already occupied by not one person, as they expected, but by two. The two teenagers were lost in their own world as their lips were busily at work. It was when the girl pulled apart from the boy and whispered something that was not audible that Lily saw the boy's face. It was Harry and he was giving the girl a big smile. Lily heard James blow a small whistle next to her. She immediately cleared her throat to let the younger couple know that they weren't alone in the room anymore.

The two teens jumped up at the sound and turned to face them, a blush, that could challenge the color of the girl's hair, forming on both of their faces.

"Hello." said James, as he walked into the room. "We are sorry for interrupting... " he trailed off.

Lily saw the girl moving away from Harry as she let go of his hand.

"Um... Yeah. I should get going anyways. I guess I'll see you at practice Harry." the girl said as she made her way towards the door.

"I'll be there." Harry said to her retreating figure.

Lily observed her son properly, probably for the first time. It was remarkable how much he looked like James. But his eyes were her's and the eyes looked as if they were carrying a great burden. He was scrawny and small for his age. She concluded that it was mostly due to his upbringing at her sister's. She looked at his robes and saw the Gryffindor tie. They were in a good state, which must mean that the trust that she and James opened as soon as Harry was born was still intact. She even saw a badge against his chest, much like the one that James had in their sixth year.

"Practice?" she heard James ask the boy.

"Quidditch practice." Harry answered.

"You play Quidditch? Which position?" James asked.

Lily sighed inwardly. _Leave it to James to suck out the tension with Quidditch._

"I'm a seeker." Harry replied.

"And you're obviously good at it, seeing as how you are the captain." Lily said.

Harry gave her a questioning look which made Lily point to his chest or more precisely his badge.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I am." he answered modestly.

After a moment, James asked, "So, the girl, who is she?"

Lily saw the boy's face redden at the question and she couldn't help but smile a little.

"That's Ginny Weasley." he replied in a slow voice. "She's my girlfriend." he added.

"She's pretty." Lily said, smiling at him. Harry gave a small smile back in her direction. Lily realized that that was the first time that she saw her son smile. Slowly, a silence fell amongst them which was becoming very uncomfortable. Lily noticed how Harry was looking at every direction in the room but not where they stood.

Unable to take it any longer, Lily asked, "Why don't we sit down?" and took a seat in one of the many desks. James followed her quickly but Harry stood looking uncertain about something. But after a moment, he too sat at a desk opposite to the ones that Lily and James sat in.

After Harry took a seat, Lily observed that he was fidgeting in his seat and that he was, absentmindedly, rubbing his forehead where Lily saw a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Finally, Harry opened his mouth to speak.

"Um... I asked to meet you so that I could sat that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have behaved the way I did. And I shouldn't have said all those things to you." he said hurriedly and added at last, in a barely hearable tone, "and about Sirius too."

Lily thought that his voice broke a little at the end. She wanted to get up and hug him but she restrained herself.

"It's okay, Harry." she said gently. "And even we are sorry, sorry for leaving you."

Harry glanced at her face and mumbled, "I told you, I didn't mean what I said."

"Even if you didn't mean it, doesn't make it a lie. You spoke the truth and the truth is we left you. And we are very regretful for that." said James.

Harry gave a shrug and didn't say anything.

"We would really like to get to know you better, Harry." Lily said, hoping that Harry would agree to tell them more about him.

"Guess that would be nice." said Harry. But what hurt Lily was his tone. It was one of indifference. She knew that she couldn't blame him since they were practically strangers to him. Lily became determined at that instant that she would change that as soon as possible.

"What do you what to know?" Harry asked.

"Tell us about your friends." James said.

"Well, my best friends are Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. We've been friends since my first year. I even stay with the Weasleys for the greater half of the summer holidays." Harry said.

"Wait! The Weasleys? As in Ginny Weasley?" James asked, with a mischievous glint in his eyes and a smirk on his mouth.

"Yeah, Ginny is Ron's younger sister." Harry replied, slightly blushing.

"So, you're pretty close with the Weasleys?" Lily asked him, trying to get the conversation away from Harry's love life.

"I am. They treat me really well and make me feel as if I'm part of their family."

Lily didn't know what to say. She already thought that she had a good idea of how Harry's life with her sister must have been. But to hear it from his mouth about how well the Weasleys treated him made it more clear how horrible Petunia must have been towards her son.

"Did you get into trouble anytime in the school?" James asked, while Lily gave him a disapproving looks and as an answer, Harry snorted.

"Too many times to count?" James asked again.

"It's not like I go looking for trouble, trouble just finds me." Harry replied.

"Does any of this trouble happen to involve Death Eaters or giant Basilisks?" Lily asked in a scared voice.

Harry looked uneasily from Lily to James and asked, "How do you know about that?"

"Well, we sort of overheard your friends talking in Dumbledore's office the other day."James said.

"I think that that's a story for another time." Harry said. He glanced at his watch and said, "I have to go for practice now. The team will skin me alive if the captain comes late."

Harry was about to stand up when James asked, "Can we watch your practice?"

It was obvious from Harry's expression that he didn't want them to watch the practice. But he shocked them both by answering, "The first match of the season is two weeks away. Maybe you can watch then?"

"That would be wonderful." Lily said before James could open his mouth to object.

"Maybe we can bring Em with us to the match too. She's just dying to meet you." James said.

"Em?" Harry asked confusedly.

Lily took a quick look towards James and said, "Emma, she's our daughter. She is very eager to meet her elder brother."

"Oh. I think I want to meet her too." Harry said.

Then he said his goodbyes to them and left. Lily wondered if he really wanted to meet Emma and also about the abrupt way in which he stood to leave. That was very odd.

 **A.N:** Do you like it? Is it up to your hopes?

Please review!


	16. Chapter 16

**A.N:** Yeah, yeah, I know it's been a long time and I'm really really sorry for that. But what can I say? I had exams and other things. I'm very sorry guys. Anyways, here is the latest chapter. Hope you all like it!

 **DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

 **Chapter – 15**

The two weeks went by in a blur for Harry, filled with classes, assignments, and private lessons with Dumbledore. But the worst were the Quidditch practices, as the first game of the season for this year, not to mention the first game as Harry as captain, was approaching. Harry was very anxious for the game as he didn't want to lose a game in his captain-ship and that too, to the Slytherin team. And since nobody was believing him in his 'Malfoy is Death Eater' theory, the least he could do was beat him at Quidditch.

Another thought that bothered Harry was that he agreed to let his parents come to the match. Everyone said that Harry played as good as his father or maybe even better. But Harry wasn't so sure of himself. He pushed these thoughts from his mind as he sat in the captain's room in the Gryffindor's changing room, with his Quidditch robes on.

"Tensed much?" asked Ginny as she came into the room and saw Harry with his head in his hands. Ron followed her into the room and Hermione came after him. Harry lifted his head and turned to face his friends and girlfriend. Both Ron and Ginny were wearing their respective Quidditch rodes while Hermione was wearing the regular black school robes with a Gryffindor scarf around her neck.

Harry shrugged his shoulders to show that he wasn't but a glare from both Ginny and Hermione made him say, "Maybe. I mean we never lost to the Slytherin team and I don't want to start now."

"That's it? That's why you're so worried?" Hermione asked him, as if she didn't believe him.

"Your tension has nothing to do with your parents coming to the match?" Ginny asked him.

"No! Why would I be tensed if they saw me play? What difference would it make?" he said. But seeing the expression on Ginny's face daring him to lie again, made him wince and he added, "A little."

Ron gave a loud snort to show his disagreement. "Mate, you've been fretting about this match since two weeks." Ron said and added on seeing that Harry was about to open his mouth to argue, "After meeting your parents." he stressed.

Harry deciding that there was no use in arguing said, "I don't know why I'm tensed. I don't care what they think of me or about how I play. But still . . ." he trailed off.

"Of course you care, you stupid prat! They are your parents after all." Ginny said.

Harry sat in silence thought for minute and said, "Maybe, but I still want to beat Malfoy."

Deciding that it was useless to say otherwise, Ron peeked outside if the room and said, "Well you won't be able to beat them if we don't go out in two minutes."

Gathering his firebolt and gloves Harry followed them out of the room to where the other team members were waiting. After giving a quick talk telling everyone to play well, the Gryffindor Quidditch team came out onto the pitch and was greeted by deafening sounds of both encouragement and discouragement. Harry tried to avoid glancing at the stands to see if his parents were there or not.

The game started after the two team captains shook their hands, in Harry's case getting his hand crushed. Ten minutes after the game started, the first goal was made by Ginny putting Gryffindor in the lead by ten points. Harry did a few somersaults in the air to show his enthusiasm and then focused on his task at hand, that is finding the snitch. Much to Harry's chagrin, he didn't spot the snitch until an hour and a half into the game. Harry immediately sped up after it and was soon followed by the Slytherin seeker. He increased his speed and soon his hands enclosed around the cold metal. A whistle was blown in a distance thus ending the game with Gryffindor a hundred points ahead of Slytherin.

The ground was filled with shouts and shrieks of happiness from majority of the audience. All too soon the Gryffindor team made their way back to the changing room content with the outcome of the game. They were still in their Quidditch robes when Hermione burst in, squealing her congratulations. The girl may not be a Quidditch fan but she was just as happy as the others when the Gryffindor team won.

Soon the other four members of the team left to find their friends, leaving Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny alone in the room. They were happily discussing the finer aspects of the game and forgot about everything else when a voice brought Harry back to reality.

"That was one of the best games I ever saw." an excited male voice said.

The four teenagers immediately turned in the direction of the voice. Standing at the entrance of the room were three people, a man, a woman and a little girl, who was holding the woman's hand. They all had smiles on their faces but the expression on the girl's face made it clear that she must have had the time of her life. ' _So that must be my little sister. That sounds weird.'_ thought Harry.

"Hope you don't mind us coming here." Lily said, seeing their slightly surprised faces. "We were waiting for you to come out but James here couldn't wait." She paused for a second, looked at the little girl and added, "Neither could Emma. She was too eager to see you."

Harry looked at the girl and saw that she was beaming up at him. She looked real happy. It was clear that she had a good upbringing and was well loved for. That thought hurt Harry since he could have had the same childhood but didn't. He shook his head as he brushed that feeling aside and tried to put a smile on his face.

"That's fine. We don't mind. We were about to come out, but got sidetracked." Harry said. He then turned to his friends and said, "Guys, these are my ..." he trailed off thinking. He still wasn't comfortable to call them his parents and didn't know what to call them.

The smiles on the elder Potters' faces slightly faded as they noticed Harry's hesitation. Seeing the scene in front of her, Hermione decided to intervene in the conversation. That was the least she could do for her best friend.

"You must be Mr and Mrs Potter." she said hastily, making everyone turn to face her. "I'm Hermione Granger, Harry's friend. It's really nice to meet you." she said and extended her hand to James.

Lily and James wiped the frowns from their faces and shook Hermione's hand, one after the other. Then Hermione offered a smile to the little girl who in turn smiled back at her. Seeing as how no one else started talking, she said, "I don't know if you remember but, we were there that in Dumbledore's office on that day . . ." She pointed towards herself and Ron and nudged Ron to introduce himself.

Ron stared at her for a second before understanding what to do and finally said, "Oh, yeah! I'm Ron, Ron Weasley."

Lily smiled at Ron. "Of course we remember. But we didn't get around to having introductions that day, did we?" she said softly laughing.

Harry shuffled his feet feeling guilty for having shouted at them and at how he hesitated to call them his parents. But he knew that he just couldn't call them mum and dad, not yet. That would take time.

"And I'm Ginny Weasley. I'm Ron's younger sister." Ginny said.

"Are you sure you're just Ron's younger sister? I remember seeing you the other day." James told the young red head, with a smirk, making her blush furiously.

"James!" Harry heard his mother hiss at his father. But James still had a small grin on his face. Harry turned to see Ron and felt glad that he had a neutral expression on his face. The last thing Harry needed was an angry brother, or more specifically an angry Ron, on his tail.

"You really have courage, Harry, to date a girl with an elder brother, who so happens to be your best mate." James said.

Ginny, coming out of her blushing state, said, with a smirk that could rival James, "Actually I have six elder brothers. Ron is the only one still in school."

Harry groaned internally as he saw James open his mouth, but thankfully Lily smacked him on his arm and said, "We're glad to meet you. And, I'm not sure if you all know, this is our daughter, Emma." she said, pointing to the little girl.

"Hi." she said timidly, since the attention of the four teenagers was now on her. "Congratulations on your game. It was really good."

Harry, Ron and Ginny mumbled their thanks to Emma.

"I thought that Remus was exaggerating when he told me about your Quidditch skills, Harry but he didn't lie one bit."

Harry felt the blush creep up on his face at James's praise but managed to say a thank you to him. After a bit of small talk about the game, an uncomfortable silence fell amongst them.

"Shall we go out now? This room is starting to feel small." said James, after a while.

"Sure, I guess." answered Harry. But before they were able to leave the room, Hermione asked, "I don't mean to be rude, Mr and Mrs Potter, but can you be seen in public? It was a doubt that was lingering in my mind for some time now."

Harry was a bit surprised at Hermione's question. ' _Why didn't I think of that? How did they sit in the crowd, maybe some glamour charms?'_ he thought.

"Actually Hermione, now that you mention it, we forgot to tell you, we went to the Ministry last week and had a little chat with the Minister. So, it's public news now, though the process took place very quickly." Lily said, with a small smile that was fading as she thought about it.

"Yeah, it took nearly no time at all, what with Dumbledore being there and all. That was a bit weird." James said.

Hermione immediately said, "Of course they would speed up the process. The Ministry's been trying to get into Dumbledore's good books since last summer."

Ron snorted at this and added, "After making him and Harry look like fools for nearly a year."

Lily looked surprised at this news and asked, "What do you mean?"

Not wanting to go into the details that would eventually bring out Harry's entire school years, Harry hastily said, "How about going for a walk in the grounds?"

"Why don't we go and sit near the lake? And you can tell us the meaning of what Ron and Hermione said?" James asked with a look that made Harry understand that it would be worthless to argue.

Harry hesitated for a minute before saying, "Why don't you three go, we'll follow you in a minute?"

The other Potters nodded their heads at Harry's request and went out of the room. As soon they left, Harry let out a huge breathe and sat thinking about what he would tell them.

"Harry, I really think you should tell them everything about your life." Hermione said.

"How can I, Hermione? I can't just spill my guts like that to them. Even though they might be my parents, they're practically strangers to me." Harry said exhaustedly.

Ginny moved so that she could stand in front of Harry, took his hand and said, in a firm voice, "That is all the more reason to tell them. It will help you form a relationship with them, the more you talk. Harry, it's hurting them a lot that you're being distant with them, but they are patiently waiting for you to come around and I don't think you should keep them waiting anymore." Ginny concluded, in a soft tone.

"I never thought I'd say this, but Ginny's right, mate. You should start opening up to them." Ron said.

Ginny huffed at her brother but didn't say anything as Harry got up from his seat and made his way to the door.

"We'll go to the castle, Harry. We'll see you later." Hermione said.

Harry immediately stopped walking and looked at Hermione as if she was mad. "What? You lot made me decide that I would tell them about _our school lives_. And now you want to leave me alone." he almost shouted. "Not a chance. You all are coming with me."

"Not _our school lives_ , mate. It's mainly _your life_. But don't worry. If you want us to be there, we will be." said Ron with a smile, as Hermione nodded her head. Ginny stood next to him and interlocked her hand in his and smiled at him.

The four friends thus went out and made their way to the Black lake where they found James, Lily and Emma sitting under the shade of the very same tree that Harry saw in Snape's memory. Harry saw how Emma sat with her head in her father's lap and that the three were all laughing, probably at some joke, as if they didn't have a care for the world, as if a manic like Voldemort didn't exist and as if the Wizarding World wasn't at war, like a happy family should be. ' _They shouldn't be burdened with me. They don't need their lives to be threatened. Is it necessary to involve them in my battle?'_ Harry thought as he stopped walking.

Ginny, as if sensing his thoughts, whispered in his ear, "You have to do this Harry. They want you to tell them everything. Don't back out now."

"But they seem so happy. Why should I spoil their happiness?" Harry asked.

"Because you're their son and they love you, a feeling even you can reciprocate in time. They want to know Harry." Hermione said, as she and Ron stopped walking near them.

Harry knew that they were right, when was Hermione ever wrong? So they walked the small distance until they reached the Breech tree. After they all sat down and made themselves comfortable, Harry took a deep breath and asked, "Remember the last time you asked me about the Basilisk, dragon and all and how I said that it's a long story?"

Seeing both James and Lily nod, Harry said, "Well, I think it's better to start from the first."

 **A.N:** What do you think? The next chapter will cover Harry's school life. But should I add about the Dursleys?

Leave a review about what you feel. Reading your comments makes my day!


	17. Chapter 17

**A.N:** I'm sorry that I didn't upload it for so long. I hope I didn't lose all my lovely readers. But I don't have a laptop anymore. I'll have to buy one and am thinking that I will soon. After I buy my laptop, I promise updates will be regular. And i just want to tell you all I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS STORY.

 **Important:** In the before chapter I wrote that the Potters cleared it with the Ministry that they're alive. But that won't set with hoe the story is going to progress. So pretend that I wrote that they came under glamour charms.

 **Chapter 16:**

As they walked out of the tent, the smile on Lily's face slowly turned into a frown as she thought of her son's behavior. The boy hesitated to introduce them as his parents. She knew that her relationship with Harry wouldn't be as easy as it was with Emma. But, now, she was afraid if there would be any relation between them at all. Harry wasn't just uncomfortable with them but he is reluctant to even speak to them. Making up her mind on what to do, Lily turned to face James which was when she took in her surroundings.

She didn't notice that they had walked all the way to the lake until then. Lily felt nostalgic as she took a look at the scenery in front of her. She smiled as she remembered the number of times she and James sat in front of Breech tree kissing or just relaxing in with their arms wrapped around the other. It was a time when they didn't have a care about the world outside the walls of Hogwarts and where the reality of war still didn't hit them.

That was when it hit her that she was back at Hogwarts, again after nearly twenty years. She was back at the castle, her second home. Lily always regarded Hogwarts as her save haven since she didn't have to bear Petunia and her petty taunting. Sure, she might have missed her parents while at the castle but she had her friends with her and she also had her best friend with her. _Only till the fifth year,_ she had to remind herself. She chuckled humorlessly as she recollected that it was under that very tree that she lost her best friend as he insulted her by calling her a mudblood.

"What is it?" James asked, looking at her intently.

"Just remembering what a big egoistic head you used to have." replied Lily.

James looked at the tree and said, "Is this about the Snape incident?"

Lily glared at him as she said, "Yes, James. I was recalling how I lost my best friend."

"What do you mean mum?" Emma asked, with a hint of mirth in her eyes. She understood that her mum was mad at her dad for some reason. But, due to the fact that her mother is a sensible person, Emma knew that she wouldn't be doing any real damage by asking, except maybe getting her dad in a bit of trouble.

"Do we really have to get into this topic now?" James asked, scowling at his daughter, who in return smiled at him like an angel.

"Why not, James? Tell our daughter how your head weight used to be more than the weight of your entire body when you were in school?"

James ran a hand through his hair, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "Emma already knows all about that. Don't you Em?" he said, adding the last part to Emma.

"I might have forgotten. Why don't you refresh my memory again, daddy." she said, as sweet as possible, while laughter was threatening to burst out of her mouth.

"You would, wouldn't you?" James said as he tackled Emma and started to tickle her. Emma burst out laughing and was soon begging him to stop. Lily was smiling at how childish her husband was behaving.

Before Lily could get them to stop, she saw Harry and his friends coming near them. All of a sudden, she saw Harry stop walking. She continued to look at them as his friends told him something which made him start walking towards them. Lily sighed as she thought that she had a inkling of what that short conversation between the four of them was. She then remember that she forgot to tell James about her decision.

"James," she called to get the attention of her husband. But before she could say anything else, the kids approached them.

After the four kids sat down and made themselves comfortable, Harry took a deep breath and said, "Remember the last time you asked me about the Basilisk, dragon and all and how I said that its a long story?"

Unable to say anything, Lily nodded her head and saw at the corner of her eye, James, doing the same thing.

"Well, I think it's better to start from the first." Harry said.

Lily could see that he was struggling a lot with this and it was evident for her, that, from his tone, he doesn't want to do this now. So, Lily said, all the while praying to Merlin that James would also understand, "Harry, wait."

Harry looked at her with confusion in his eyes.

"Tell us everything when you're ready, Harry. I know you're doing this now because everyone is forcing you to do so. But, it's alright. We'll wait till then." Lily said in a soft voice, hoping to reassure her son. "Won't we James?" she added in a tone that James knew well that he shouldn't argue.

"Um.. Yeah. Sure, I guess" James answered, in a puzzled manner.

Lily rolled her eyes at James's reply and looked at Harry. She felt hurt as she saw the sense of relief on Harry's face. She hoped, somewhere, deep in her heart, that Harry would start his story, despite what she told him. But she knew that her hope was in vain as she continued to stare at her son.

"Um... I would like that." Harry said. "Thanks" he added in a small voice.

Lily smiled at him which he returned whole-heartedly. Lily knew at that second that her relationship with Harry took a turn in the right direction and that she did the right thing.

"So, how's school?" James asked the kids.

They eventually ended talking about the teachers at Hogwarts. Lily was shocked to learn that Snape became the DADA teacher but didn't say anything while James expressed his feelings openly.

"That greasy git became a professor?!" James shouted.

"Yes, he did." Ron said, gritting his teeth.

"You knew Snape?" Ginny asked James.

When James didn't give a reply, as he was still coming out of the shock, Lily said, "James and Severus had a bit of enmity between them when they were in school."

"Yeah, we know." Harry said, pointing to himself, Ron and Hermione.

When James gave him a questioning look, he shrugged, saying, "Many people told me."

Lily could tell that there was more to that then Harry was letting on and a look at James made it clear that James felt the same. But the couple let it slide.

All too soon, in Lily's opinion, it was time for the three Potters to leave.

"We should get going." Lily said and as she said that, she could have she saw a sad look on Harry's face. But before she could confirm it, it was gone.

"Alright. We should also head up to the castle. " Harry said.

"It was really nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter." Hermione said. "And you too, Emma." she said looking at the little girl.

"It was nice meeting you all too." James said looking at her.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny said goodbye and turned to leave, while Harry lingered near them.

"Bye." Harry said, awkwardly.

"Bye Harry." Lily said.

"Um Harry?" Emma asked shyly. James laughed at her tone since it was a rare thing for them to hear Emma speak in such a small voice. But Lily silenced him with a glare.

"Yeah?" Harry asked her.

"Would you give me a reply if I wrote to you?" she asked. Seeing the surprise on his face, she added, rather hastily, "I just want to be in touch with you. But its fine if you don't want to."

"Sure, Emma. I'd like that. You are my sister, after all." Harry told the little girl, smiling warmly at her.

Emma ran up to him and hugged him, which stunned Harry. But he soon returned the gesture and the siblings stood hugging each other till Harry broke it.

Lily had a wide smile on her face as she saw the exchange between her children. Lily considered doing the same that Emma did and hug Harry, but at last decided against it. Harry said goodbye to the elder Potters and soon left, rushing after his friends to catch up to them.

* * *

That evening, Lily and James sat in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place with Remus . They had just finished telling him the events of the day.

"I still can't believe that you refused to let Harry tell you about his life." Remus said, in a astonishing voice.

"Well, I thought it was best to let Harry set the pace of how our relation goes." Lily said.

"And I agree with you." James said, taking her hand into his.

Lily had, initially, been afraid of how James would react at what she did. But, thankfully, he didn't say anything, apart from asking an explanation for what she did. After Lily explained how she felt by Harry's actions towards them, James also agreed with her and told her that she did the right thing.

"Now, Remus, we don't know how long it will take for Harry to comfortable with us. But I want to know what happened in my son's life." Lily sternly told the werewolf.

"And so, we decided that you will be telling us the highlights of his life." James said.

"W-What?!" Remus stuttered. "I told you that it's not my story to tell.

"Yes, you did. But you also told us that you would tell us if Harry wouldn't." James said.

"Please Remus." Lily pleaded him. It hurt her to plead someone else to get to know what happened in her son's life.

Remus took a deep breath and said, "I guess I did say that."

After looking at the faces of the couple, he said, "I don't know much about his life before he started Hogwarts. But I do know that he hates going back to his aunt's house for every summer."

"He won't have to go there from now on." James said in a stubborn tone.

"Do you know what happens there?" Lily asked him.

"Harry never talks about the Dursleys but it's obvious that they didn't treat him properly. Molly mentioned something about him being malnutritioned when he came to the Weasley's house before his second year started."

"They starved him?" Lily asked in a deadly tone.

"Maybe not starved him, but they probably just didn't take proper care of him." Remus replied in a small voice.

"Petunia's my sister. The least she could have done is treat my son properly." Lily said with tears in her eyes.

James gathered Lily in his arms and tried to console her but was failing as his own anger was getting the better of him.

"What else do you know?" Lily asked him.

"Well, the first birthday gift had after his first birthday was for his eleven when Hagrid gave him his owl. He also feels uncomfortable talking about his feelings and he thinks that no one loves him."

James gathered Lily in his arms and tried to console her as she started crying but was failing as his own anger was getting the better of him.

"Leave the Dursleys, Moony. Tell us about his Hogwarts years." James said.

"It's getting late. You both are tired from your day. Let's have this conversation in the morning." Remus said.

Both James and Lily nodded at him and left for their room to get some sleep.

 **A.N:** How did you like it? What do you all think about how Lily handled the situation? Leave your thoughts in the reviews!

And a BIG SHOUT OUT to my 100th reviewer BellaK26. Thank you to all who took time to give my story a review. It means a lot to me. Thanks a lot. Love you guys!


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